Cursed
by Spectrobes Princess
Summary: "I'm bad luck. Good isn't an option for me." Linda Park just wanted to live a normal life. But when she was cursed at the age of 7, everything changed. This is the story of how she became Jinx, and of her eventual redemption. Temporary CyJinx & Jinx/Kid Kold, eventual Flinx, and just a dash of SpeedChesh.
1. The Way To Freedom

7/22/15

Cursed

Chapter One: The Way To Freedom

I lie curled up in my spot on the basement floor, with my knees pushed to my chest. It's the best place down here, because if you look up at the stairs you can see the light from under the door. There isn't much light down here. I tried turning on the light switch at the bottom of the steps, but it didn't work. I think the lady who lives here needs to change the lightbulbs. The only one that works down here is the one with the switch at the top of the steps, and I don't want to risk falling. But I'm getting used to the dark. Before I came here, I was scared of the dark, but I'm not anymore. I can see in the dark pretty good now, too. Just like a cat.

The floor above the basement squeaks as the sound of footsteps nears the stairs. I sit up and run my hand against my dark hair to make it less messy. The Lady must be coming back. She's the reason I'm here. If it weren't for her, I'd be at home with my foster parents and my little sister, Felicity. Instead I'm stuck here with her- and I don't even know her name. I wish she'd at least tell me that much, or where we are. I don't even know if I'm in my hometown anymore.

The door squeaks as The Lady opens it. I shut my eyes as the light is flicked on, and then I slowly blink them open. The light is still bright, but it's not too much for me now. My gaze wanders to my skin. It's usually darker than this, but it's started paling. I think it's because I've been inside for so long. But some of the kids at school never went outside, not even during recess, and their skin never got pale like this. My hair has been lightening, too. It used to be black, but now it's turning brown. Actually, I'd almost say it's red.

I look back up at The Lady. She sets down a plate of food on the top step and shuts the door like she always does when it's time for me to eat. I climb the steps and sit down on the second one, using the top one as my table. Meatloaf again. Yuck! My foster mom _never_ made meatloaf. I wish I could complain, but when I do I don't get to eat at all. My foster parents- the only parents I've ever known- would never do that to me. But this woman isn't like my parents. She's cruel and strict, and I don't even know why she keeps me here. Did I do something wrong? I must have. This must be where they keep kids until they're old enough to go to jail. I'm only 7, so it's not like I'm old enough to go to normal jail. But I don't know what I did. Was it because I picked that fight with Felicity? Was it because I cried when it was time to go home from the park? I know that I shouldn't have done either of those things, but I don't think they deserve a life sentence!

How long have I been here? It seems like only yesterday that I woke up in here, but it also feels like ages ago. Maybe it's been a month or so, but there's no way to know.

"Why are you doing this to me?" I whimper, poking the meatloaf with my fork.

She doesn't answer my question. Instead she changes the subject, like she always does. "I'm going to town to pick up supplies, dearie. I'll be back soon. Don't try to escape- I've got a lock on the door."

"I know," I say weakly. I was so bossy and strong before I woke up here. It seems like being down here turned me into a weakling. Why can't I stand up for myself anymore? "Please tell me what I did wrong."

The woman's croaky laugh rings through my ears. "It's not what you did wrong- it's what you did right. You're just so perfect dear. I never thought a mere child could have so much potential for greatness, but you are such an exception. I'm doing this because I love you. You'll understand one day. I'll let you out of the basement once your transformation is complete, but only if you promise to cooperate, of course."

"Transformation?" I ask.

The woman laughs, and I hear her walk away from the door. My head droops and I push my plate to the side. I'm not hungry, anyways. I don't care if she'll keep me from eating. She can't starve me forever. That's just mean. Besides, she just said she needs me. I don't know if she really meant that she loves me, but I know she needs me. And I also know that I didn't do anything wrong. I feel a little better about this now that I know I'm innocent. Now that I know she needs me, though, I feel bad about wanting to leave. But I need my real family, not her. And they always told me that if anyone ever tried to emotionally manipulate me I didn't have to listen to it. So I don't.

"Be good Linda. I'll be back soon. You can leave the light on this time. Might be good for you," she says.

"Wait! How do you know my-"

Before I can finish my sentence, The Lady walks away. I hear the front door open and close, and soon I hear the engine of her car start. I listen closely enough to hear the crunching of gravel as she drives away. That must mean we're in the country. There are never gravel roads in the city. I don't know why, though. You can run just as easily on gravel as you can pavement, so it's not like it would slow The Flash down. A lot of kids think he has bad powers, but I wish I was fast like a cheetah. Cheetahs are cool! But that's not the point. If we're not in the city, it means I'm a long way from home. Maybe there's a map down here. The light is on, so I might as well look.

I go back down the stairs, leaving my meatloaf unattended. I can always scrape it off in the trash can or something. Now that I actually have time to look around at the basement, I see how pathetic it really looks. It's really just a big, empty room with one table in the middle. No chairs, either. There's also a bookshelf. I get hopeful at first, thinking there might be a map book in there, but when I check it's just full of weird cookbooks. How many cookbooks does this lady need? They don't even have normal titles. Comparing soup to love potions? Really? What's really weird is that she doesn't even seem to know how to use these cookbooks. She's only cooking stuff like mashed potatoes and biscuits, but maybe that's because I'm down here blocking her way to the books.

It's funny how much better I feel now that I know The Lady is gone. She usually only leaves when I'm asleep, so I haven't had any time away from her. It's like a weight lifted off my shoulders. The light under the stairs is gone, so I guess The Lady turned it off when she left. I wish I could go up there, but she said the door is locked. I'll just go get the plate so I can dispose of the food.

I walk up the stairs and bend down to pick up the paper plate. Suddenly, a wave of pink light shoots out of my hands. I jump back and slip on a glob of meatloaf that dripped off. In a moment of panic, I grab the doorknob and pull myself up, but the door pushes open. A scream escapes my mouth as I'm flung out of the basement. My stomach hits the top step and I squeak in pain. I thought she said she locked that door!

Well, now I'm _really_ thankful I took gymnastics. Otherwise I don't think I would've made it out of that situation alive. I pull myself up off the ground and take a look around the house. It seems to be really clean compared to the basement. No cobwebs, no bugs, no dirt. Everything shines and sparkles, making it look like a place in a Disney movie. For a minute I wonder if she even has mice clean the place. The floors are wooden, as well as the walls. There's a couch and a couple of chairs in one room, and a kitchen in another room. I look around for her bedroom, but I can't find it. So where does she sleep?

Okay, so maybe this is a shed of some kind. There's probably another house near here that she actually lives in. I look out the window, but there's nothing there. Would it hurt to go outside? Probably not. Maybe _that_ was the door she really locked, though. I doubt it. I think she was just lying to keep me from trying to get out.

I'm about to go out when I spot my backpack sitting next to the door. I check the inside of it, and sure enough all of my things are still in there. I grin and sling it over my shoulders before opening the door. Maybe this is my chance! Maybe I can escape!

As I walk out the door, I hear a cracking noise. I twirl around as the house is repeatedly hit by more of those pink waves. Taking a step back, I turn around and run as far away from the house as I can. The sound of tires crunching gravel fills my ears, and out of the corner of my eyes I see a car pulling up in the driveway. There's no way I'm going back in there! Weird things are happening in there!

"Linda Mallory Parks!" The woman shouts, rolling down the window.

I freeze in terror. "No! I'm not going back in there! Stay away from me!"

The house collapses as she slams on the breaks. The car screeches to a stop, and she glares at me while unbuckling her seatbelt. I will pay for this. She has made this very clear. I whimper and take a couple steps back as my hands start tingling with more pink waves.

"What's happening to me?" I shriek as another pink wave shoots out of my hands. It hits the car before she can get out, squishing her in the process. I gasp as her body disappears, leaving a pile of blue ashes in its place.

I think I just killed a witch.

Before I can think about any of this, I run onto the side of the road. I have to put as much space between me and this house as possible, in case she comes back to life! All I know is that I'm now on my way to freedom. No matter how long that journey might be.


	2. The HIVE Academy

7/25/15

Cursed

Chapter Two: The HIVE Academy

I run as fast as I can, putting as much space between me and the house as possible. Or what's left of the house, at least. I don't stop running until my feet hurt so much I can't stand. I collapse on the side of the road with tears running down my face. I don't even know where I am! How will I get home now?

Taking another look at my skin doesn't help. It's completely gray now. Mom and Dad wouldn't recognize me now, Felicity either. I unzip my backpack and check to see if I have a mirror with me. I find it, but I almost wish I didn't when I see my reflection. My hair and eyes are turning into a pale red that almost looks pink. As much as I love pink, why couldn't it be purple? Or better yet, why couldn't my hair stay black and my eyes stay brown? I used to think they were so boring, but now I wish they were still the same so my friends and family could recognize me.

I dump out the things in my backpack so I can see what I have to work with. My mirror, some My Little Ponies and LPS, my stuffed cheetah (Zippy) and unicorn (Clover), a probably expired granola bar, the sapphire pendant necklace Dad gave me for my birthday, my blanket, a copy of The Wizard of Oz, my money (only for emergencies), hair ties, my sketchbook, pencils, a brush, a couple DVDs, and other things like that. That's right, this was the backpack I was taking with me on our way to our new house- and I don't remember our new address. It was in Central City, I know that much. And Central City is what, 5 hours away from our old house? Just my luck. Maybe they're looking for me. But is there really any way to prove I'm me?

A gust of wind flies through my hair. I shiver and wrap the blanket around my shoulders like a cape. I organize my backpack and zip it up, leaving out the stuffed animals. Tying the blanket so it won't fly away, I put my backpack on over it and tuck Zippy and Clover under my arms. I probably look stupid but it's better than being cold. Why wasn't I wearing my coat when she kidnapped me?

I haven't explained the story yet, have I? When Felicity was born, our birth parents abandoned us. After that our foster parents, the Parks family, took us in because they couldn't have their own kids. They were about to adopt us, too, but then the agency changed the rules. Luckily, the only new rule that applied to us was that we needed a bigger house. So Mom and Dad bought a bigger house all the way in Central City, found jobs that were even better than the ones they had, and scheduled for us to be officially adopted soon after we moved in to our new house. Of course this is the part in all the movies where something goes wrong, so I can't believe we didn't see it coming.

It was the day of the move. All of our stuff was loaded up into the moving van, and we were almost ready to go. I asked Mom if I could go say goodbye to my best friends, Holly and Dawn, since the sisters only lived next door to us. On my way back, a woman came up to me and started asking questions. Mom came and told me to stay away from strangers, so I did. An hour later I completely forgot about the lady. Me and Felicity were in the backseat of the car, playing with our My Little Ponies and watching Finding Nemo, when Felicity announced that she had to go pee. The thing about 3 year olds is that they can't just "hold it in", no matter what you tell them. We pulled over at a gas station, and Mom and Dad made me get out even though I didn't have to. So I shoved my stuff back in my backpack and stomped into the store, when all of a sudden I felt really sleepy. When I turned around, I saw the woman from before (who I guess is that witch that was keeping me shut up in that house) and then I passed out. When I woke up, I was in the basement.

So now I don't even know where I'm going. All I can do is follow the road and hope I'm somewhere near Central City, even though I don't know what I'll do when I get there. After walking for a couple hours, my stomach starts growling. I start to wish I would've eaten that meatloaf. I didn't think this through very well, but it's not like I had time to plan my actions. I just had to do stuff and hope for the best.

The sun starts to set, and I feel like giving up. I can't do this anymore. If I walk for any longer, I'll pass out. My eyes start drooping shut, and I fight back a yawn. It's official. I'm going to die out here. And when they discover my dead body, they won't even know it's me. They'll just think I'm some freak who stole Linda's backpack. My family will never know what happened to me. There's got to be an end to these country roads somewhere, but it doesn't seem likely that I'll make it there.

And then I see it. In the distance, there's a building! An actual building! My heart beats faster as I realize I'm one step closer to getting home. Maybe they'll have a phone I can use to call Dad! I stop to shove the blanket and my stuffed animals into my backpack, zip it up again, and run as fast as I can. With only my backpack to hang onto, I can run a whole lot faster. The building gets closer and closer, and I soon realize it's a gas station. Good, maybe I finally get to use my emergency money! I could definitely use a snack.

A car zips past, but slows down once it sees me. It backs up on the road and comes to a stop. A woman rolls down the window and asks, "Are you lost?"

I nod my head. "Do you know the way to Central City?"

The woman laughs. "Central City is a long way from here. We're in Jump City, dear."

Jump City? Never heard of it.

"Where's that?" I ask.

"California."

I feel my eyes widen. "But... I was in Missouri or Kansas when the witch kidnapped me! How did I get here?"

"A witch you say?" the woman asks. "I suppose that would explain the hair."

I duck my head in embarrassment. "How do I get home?"

"Why? Your family will only laugh at you. I've seen this situation a million times. Parents don't understand. The kids at school will pick on you too. Or, of course, you could come with me..."

"How do you know my family won't love me anymore?" I frown.

The woman copies my frown. "I run a school for children like you. Most of them have been outcast from their families. Many were beaten, countless were almost murdered by their parents. Believe me, I wish your parents would still love you, but the chances are so slim. So why risk it? Come with me, and I'll teach you to shine."

The thought of Mom and Dad trying to kill me is ridiculous! Why would they do something like that! They love me! I start to feel angry at this woman for suggesting such a thing, when my hands start glowing pink again. I scream as a wave of pink hits the side of her car. Maybe they wouldn't try to kill me, but what if I accidentally killed one of them? Tears fall down my cheeks as I make up my mind.

"Can you teach me to control this?" I sob. The woman nods her head. "Okay, then I'll do it."

The woman smiles, opening the car door. I climb in and buckle my seatbelt, setting my backpack on my lap. "What's your name, child?"

I think for a moment. I don't want to tell her my real name, because you're not supposed to tell that to strange adults- even if they are helping you. What about my middle name? I've always liked that better than Linda.

"Call me Mallory," I say, wiping away my tears.

"Welcome to the HIVE Academy, Mallory. You've made the right decision. You'll see."

Why does that statement feel so wrong, yet so right? As if this wasn't a good decision, but it's the place where my destiny needs me to be? Instead of voicing my doubts I smile and nod like the good little girl I am, all while wondering what kind of mess I've gotten myself into this time.

 **…**

 **Hey guys! Spectrobes Princess here! I was going to try to get this written by Friday, but I guess updating a day later than planned is better than not updating at all. You know, I'll just go ahead and warn you guys. If I ever specify what day I'll update on, expect the update at least a day later. Readers of my Hunger Games fanfics know this well. In fact, I haven't updated one of them in 2 weeks. 2 months for the other one. Oops. But don't worry. Since this is kind of my main project at the moment, I probably won't fall behind THAT much.**

 **It's really nice writing a fic for my first fandom again. I deleted all my other Teen Titans fanfics because quite frankly they sucked as much as My Immortal did. You might remember Titan Pets Waffles, The End Again, I Did Not Drop Off The Face Of The Earth, The Last Unicorn Teen Titans Edition, The Remaining Enemy, or either version of Metamorphosis. If you do, you can clearly see how much I've improved, even if my writing** ** _is_** **still a mess.**

 **Thank you to everyone who has followed, favorited, or reviewed. I usually do a "review response" thing, but I'm feeling lazy today. I'll do that next time, so if you've got any questions now would be a good time to ask them.**

 **Now that you've made it through this terribly long authors note, I'll continue my little tradition of putting a quote at the end.**

 _"Crying helps me slow down and obsess over the weight of life's problems."_ –Inside Out, Sadness

 **Yeah, I saw that movie last night. Me and my sister had the theater to ourselves because no one in their right mind would take their kid to see a movie that ended at 11:00 pm. It was awesome.**

 **Titans Go!**

 **Spectrobes Princess**


	3. An Enemy And A Friend

8/5/15

Cursed

Chapter 3: An Enemy and a Friend

"I wish I could give you the tour right now, but I have a lot of work to do... you know what? I'll just let your roommate handle that. Let me write a note, then I'll take you to your room."

I nod my head enthusiastically and push up the straps of my backpack. We arrived at the Junior HIVE Academy about an hour ago, and since then I've been sitting in the Headmistress's office eating on a box of Oreos and listening to her babble on about what a good decision I've made. Even though I don't really believe her, what other choice do I have? I try not to gag at the mention of a roommate, because the idea of sleeping in the same room as a stranger doesn't sound good at all. She finishes writing the note and hands it to me.

"Come on, let's go find Jade," the Headmistress says, getting up from her desk.

I abandon the cookies and follow her out the room. We walk down a couple of hallways without running into anyone, before a girl with long blonde hair runs in our direction.

"Headmistress!" she yells. " _Headmistress_! Roy put a dead rat in my pillowcase _again_!"

The Headmistress sighs and whispers a word Dad told me not to say before saying, "I'll deal with it in a minute, Angela. I have to help our new student."

I try to pretend I didn't just hear the Headmistress's potty mouth as the girl, Angela, judgingly stares at me. I try not to do the same to her when I notice the small white wings sprouting from her back. At first I'm worried she'll say something about my skin, or my hair, but instead she wrinkles her nose and says, "Where did you get those clothes? The toilet store?"

It's true that my clothes have seen better days, but I've been wearing the same thing for a couple months now. So yeah, I know I need to change clothes, but it's really rude of her to point this out. I cross my arms and glare at her. She rolls her eyes as if I'm beneath her.

"Ladies!" The Headmistress shouts. We stop glaring at each other for enough time for the Headmistress to say, "Angela, come with me and we'll talk to Roy. Mallory, you and Jade are in room 413. To get there you'll need to make a right, another right, and then a left. Can you do that for me?"

I nod my head. "Yes Ma'am. I'll give Jade the note, too."

"You're rooming with Jade? Hah! Another loser in the loser room!" Angela laughs.

"Mind your manners, young lady!" The Headmistress snaps. She turns to me and adds, "Thank you for understanding. I'll call you to my office later so we can finish some paperwork. Until then, Jade will take care of you."

"In Loserville," I think I hear Angela whisper as they walk past me.

I sigh, feeling alone again. Waiting until they're long gone, I take a right, and then another right, and then a left, and scan the doors on the hallway for room 413. Most, if not all of the other doors are also marked with something like "Maintenance: Keep Out" or "Trash", so I guess we're the only ones with an actual room on this hallway. I can't help but wonder what Jade's like. Is she just as strange as me? Does she have weird powers too? Is she nice?

I finally find the door marked 413. With a nervous sigh, I knock on the door. No one answers, so I knock harder this time. When no one answers again, I try to open the door, but it's locked. I cross my arms and sit down on the cold white floor tiles. It's official- I hate my life. Why me?

When I'm about to give up and go look for the Headmistress, a little girl who looks to be somewhere between my age and Felicity's age (4 or 5, maybe) walks down the hall. Her black hair is tied into a long braid, and she's wearing a yellow dress with black leggings and tennis shoes. I can't place her exact race, but I'm pretty sure she's either Vietnamese or French, maybe both. The most noticeable thing about her is her eyes, though- the greenest eyes I've ever seen. You can't help but stare at them, wondering what secrets they hold. I stand up and get out of the way of the door.

"Excuse me, do you know where I can find Jade?" I ask. I remember that Angela said she didn't like her, and I can't help but wonder if that's the opinion everyone has about her. If so, it might be hard to track her down.

The girl nods her head. "Yep! That's me!"

I grin and hand her the note. "The Headmistress said to give this to you."

Jade snatches the note from me and unfolds it carefully. At first I'm worried that she's like Felicity, and she's too young to read, but when I see her nodding her head as her eyes scan the paper my worries melt away a bit. She bites her lip in concern, but when she catches herself doing it she stops. She looks up at me for a moment, as if wondering what her reaction should be. Finally, she hands the note back to me.

"I wasn't supposed to have a roommate," she sighs, "But I guess I should be happy it's not Angela."

"You don't like her either?" I ask.

Jade laughs. "Oh, you already met her? She's awful, isn't she?"

I nod my head. "She thinks you're a freak."

"Oh I know- not that it bothers me. Normal is boring!" Her eyes scan my clothes like Angela did, and she add, "We might wanna get you a uniform."

"You're not going to ask about the mud?" I ask.

Jade shakes her head. "You can tell me later. Come on, they're in one of the closets over here."

I follow her to the closet, a little surprised at how old she acts. "How old are you?"

"5 and a half," she says. "Why?"

I shrug. "You don't really act like it."

"Only because we've got a job to do right now. You just haven't seen my true colors yet. How old are you?"

I'm about to say 7, when I realize I don't know how much time has passed. "Depends. Is it September 13 yet?"

"Um, November 3, actually. I take it you missed your birthday?"

My heart breaks a little. I've been gone for about 3 months now. "I guess this means I'm 8."

"That's nice," Jade says, opening the door. "Go find one in your size. The ones on the right are the girl uniforms."

"Thanks," I say, looking through the stacks of uniforms. All of them are the same as what Jade's wearing, and come to think of it I think Angela was wearing one too. So it's kind of stupid that she was judging my clothes, since everyone wears the same thing here. I find my size and close the door so I can change. "Do you play tour guide often? You're a pro at it."

"Nah," Jade yells, "You and one other kid have been the only new kids since July. I think Headmistress is getting desperate. Her boss wouldn't want her to fail!"

"Boss?" I ask.

"His name's Brother Blood. He's kind of a jerk. My friend Lian told me he's got a stick up his butt. Oops, then she told me not to tell anyone she said that. But Lian's nice! I don't think she'd care!"

"Is she the other new kid?"

"No, she's not young enough to be here. She's the one who sent me, though. Or at least, her boss is. Don't tell anyone, but I'm kind of a spy."

I roll my eyes. Some kids just don't know when to stop playing.

"Then who _is_ it?" I ask.

"His name's Roy. He's the only kid here I can be around for more than 2 seconds without wanting to strangle him. Other than you, of course. It's time for dinner now. We should hurry and get there before the older kids take all the food. We might see Roy there, but I doubt it. He's in trouble right now."

I finish changing and open the door. Jade takes my old clothes and throws them into our room.

"What did he do?" I ask, slinging my backpack back over my shoulders. Then I remember my meeting with Angela. "Did he put a dead rat in Angela's pillowcase?"

Jade turns around and gives me a funny look. "How did you know that?"

I grin. "Just a lucky guess."

I can already tell this is going to be fun. I don't think my parents would like it if they knew I was playing with the problem kids, but it's not like I'm going to find any better friends here. You get what you get and you don't throw a fit. Besides, I don't know that they're troublemakers yet. Maybe they won't be so bad after all.

… **.**

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or anything else I may mention_

 **(For anyone wondering what Speedy is doing here, or what Chesh is doing for that matter, just look at something our deadly killer in training said earlier.)**

 **Anyways, sorry for the wait. I had this chapter ready on Sunday, but I've just been too busy to post it. Plus I've got one of the worst cases of poison ivy I've ever seen, so I haven't really felt like doing anything. I don't even know how I got it! My original guess was that my cat Silkie (yes, named after Starfire's pet) rubbed up against some and got the oil on his fur, but the day I got it I only picked him up for like 2 seconds before he squirmed away. So yeah, that wouldn't explain how it got ALL over my arms, on my chin, on my legs, on my wrists, on my forehead, and worst of all on my freaking** _ **mouth**_ **. I'm truly stumped on this one, tbh.**

 **Follows:**

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 **Review Responses:**

 **Ilovecookies2000- Thanks! I'm glad you like it**

 **Opinionated Shipper- Don't worry, Kid Flash will show up soon (even if it's just a little cameo- he'll get a lot of those, actually). I'm a KF fan too, as well as a major Flinx shipper, so there's no way I'd keep him out of the story until he's supposed to show up. I'll keep it cannon though. I just have a way to have them meet without remembering it, and another way to have them meet without** _ **actually**_ **having them meet. It's complicated, you'll see what I mean later.**

 **TwizzleCreampuff (guest)- Thanks! It's actually pretty hard to write kids without sounding dumb, but I make it work. The protagonist of my other fanfic series is 24, so it's a pretty big shift in ages.**

 **Pinkgrande (guest)- Thanks :)**

 **So there's that. Anyways, I'm going on a little mini-vacation tomorrow, and the drive there is either 3 or 5 hours (can't remember which) so I'll probably have a lot of time to write. And by write I mean listen to angsty music on my iPod while staring out the window and constructing AMV's in my head with clips that don't exist. So yeah, let's hope I don't do that the WHOLE time so I can get some progress made. I'm going to try to get this thing updated again by next Monday, earlier if I can get the chapter written in time.**

 **Quote of the day!**

" _Do you hear that? It's an ice cream truck playing We Three Kings of Orient Are. Now what kind of ice cream truck plays the worst Christmas carol of all time!?"_ –Mr. Timn

 **If you haven't seen the Mr. Timn videos, you really should look them up. They're just short little videos on YouTube, but they're hilarious.**

 **Titans go!**

 **Spectrobes Princess**


	4. Instincts

8/25/15

Cursed

Chapter 4: Instincts

The cafeteria is filled of students, some normal looking, others who are obviously here for a reason. I try not to stare at Angela, who is surrounded by a big group of friends. My heart sinks a little. I didn't have too many friends at my old school, but at least I had a few. Here I just have Jade. It's not that she's a bad friend or anything, but she's really… chatty. Maybe it's just because she's excited to have another friend. She does look pretty lonely. But she's so nice, I have to wonder why she _doesn't_ have that many friends. I make a note to myself to ask later.

"So…do you think Roy's in trouble?" I ask. Her other friend has yet to make an appearance, and I'm kind of starting to worry about him.

"Oh yeah, for sure. I mean, we get in trouble all the time for things like this. Which is odd, all things considered. But Angela deserves it, so don't feel bad for her. Her friend Seymour used to be one of our targets too, but then we decided he's too nice. No clue how he ended up with a friend like her. She spit in my soda last week- that's what the dead rat was for."

I decide not to ask how they even got the rat.

"So, am I going to be in her class?" I ask.

Jade shakes her head. "Nope, we're divided into levels here, and you're just a beginner, so I doubt you'll be a B already… unless you're in any sports?" Jade asks.

"Gymnastics," I say weakly.

"Were you any good?" Jade asks. I nod my head. "Okay, so maybe you'll be with us. When you get to level H, you go to the normal HIVE Academy. Or when you turn 14… whatever comes first. Level F and on are supposed to be really hard to pass, so I guess most of us will be 14 before we move on. I'm close to being a C, though, but even then I doubt I'll make it before- never mind. It doesn't matter."

I can't help but feel impressed. She's at least 2 years younger than me, but she's apparently smarter than I am. If it was Felicity, I'd be jealous, but for some reason I'm not with Jade. If anything, I'm kind of proud of my roommate.

"I know what you're thinking," she says. "I'm not that great, though. Trust me. I kind of suck."

"Who says?" a boy around my age with ginger hair says, taking the empty chair next to Jade. He sits his tray down and adds, "I'm fully prepared to beat up whoever told you that."

"Oh knock it off Roy. Not everyone likes being as full of themselves as you are," Jade grins, shoving him lightly.

So this is Roy, huh? In a way, he looks familiar, but I can't place where I've seen him.

"I'm being serious though," Roy says. "I'd seriously rather get in trouble than let someone hurt you."

"You flirt," Jade groans, "Yes, because this is CLEARLY the place for heroism. Hopefully new girl over here will be a little less picky on who we prank. You exhaust me."

He seems to just now notice me, so he stopes his play fight with Jade- or at least puts it on hold. "Oh yeah, Angela told me all about you. Funny, from what she said, it sounded like you were some two-headed monster. I guess she was just looking in the mirror." He laughs at his own joke and says, "I'm Roy. I take it you've met Jade the sunshine fairy already…"

"Oh quit it," Jade says, still grinning. "Mallory's my roommate, captain obvious."

Roy smirks at me. "Did the Headmistress tell you that she murdered her last one?"

My eyes widen and my jaw drops. My roommate is a killer?

Jade shoots him a glare. "It's just a rumor. A really stupid rumor. Up until now I haven't even had a roommate!"

I calm down. "Really?" I ask.

"Of course! Even if I _did_ have another one, I wouldn't have _killed_ them. I'm a lot of things, but a murderer isn't one on them. That would be like saying Roy does heroin."

"What's heroin?' Roy asks.

"My point exactly, goody two shoes."

"Earth to Jade! Remember the dead rat?" Roy laughs.

"It happened today, how could I forget?"

I sigh, slowly starting to feel left out. But I guess I'm to blame for that. I just need to jump into the conversation, that's all.

"Are you done fighting like an old married couple?" I ask.

Jade and Roy exchange a glance. Finally, Roy says, "No, and you wouldn't believe how much we get that."

"Oh, I can believe it," I assure them. I look behind me at Angela. Our eyes meet for a second, before she sticks her tongue out and looks the other way. Shaking my head, I turn back to my more friendly classmates.

"Don't even bother with that one," Roy sighs. "Some of them are worth the fight but that doesn't mean all of us are."

"Huh?" I ask.

Jade shrugs. "He just says weird stuff sometimes."

I nod my head. "My friend Holly does that sometimes. You guys would like her and her sister Dawn. I wonder if they'd like it here."

"Probably not," Jade says. "This place may look like a wonderland, but trust me. It's really not."

"Why" I ask.

"Not here!" Roy snaps. "Headmistress could hear us."

Jade nods. "I'll tell you later."

I nod back, but I just can't figure out what could be so bad about this place. After all, they took me in when apparently my parents wouldn't. But I can remember earlier today, when my instincts told me I was making a bad choice. Maybe I should've trusted my instincts after all.

… **..**

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or anything else I may mention_

 **Hi again! Trust me, I didn't mean to take this long to update, it just happened like this. Fingers crossed that I'll be quicker from now on.**

 **Follows/Faves- piggeh0**

 **Reviews-**

 **TokiioDoll- Aww, thanks! I like your story too :)**

 **Opinionated Shipper- Yeah, I have a bit of a soft spot for spy plotlines. I wish I could say that I chose Speedy to be the spying Titan because he was the only teen on Titans East without ties to the HIVE, but to be honest it was mostly because I REALLY ship him and Cheshire. But let's just claim it's the first one ;)**

 **KF Fan- Thanks :)**

 **Ratcoon- Okay, I'll keep that in mind. Mammoth is coming into the story pretty soon (he's probably Speedy's roommate, but I'm still debating it), with Gizmo following not too far behind. I'll try to think about whether or not to put Billy Numerous in soon or to make him older than the rest of the group. Or, you know, re-watch Deception and look for him in the background. Maybe both, who knows :P**

 **Sorry if I missed anyone, I'm checking my emails on my computer today to save battery on my iPod (since I'm listening to music on it right now) and the layout is a little different on the computer. Needless to say, I have no idea what I'm doing.**

 **In other news, I've started reading the Teen Titans Go comics to get a little better of an understanding of how to write Kid Kold, and can I just say WOW! It's like finding lost episodes, I swear!**

 **Quote of the day!**

" _That is what forgiveness sounds like. Screaming and then silence."_ –Llamas With Hats 2, Carl

 **Oh, you know how I mentioned I was listening to my iPod? The Lucky One by Taylor Swift just came on… can you say irony?**

 **Titans Go!**

 **Spectrobes Princess**


	5. Field Trip

9/8/15

Cursed

Chapter 5: Field Trip

I wake up on the ground today. My powers must have broken my bed frame. Again. I've found that I can usually control them while I'm awake, but it's harder to do while I'm sleeping.

For the past several months, the older students have had to take some time to train my powers so they don't get out of hand. Even though they're not as dangerous as they looked at first, Headmistress is worried they'll get stronger as I grow up. Jade and Roy are worried too- worried that she's just using me. The day I came here, after dinner, Jade pulled me aside and told me all about the truth behind the HIVE. That they're really training the next generation of villains, and only the upper levels are allowed to know. The younger students are taught to think that the special appearances villains make to the older students are to convince them that crime doesn't pay, and as they grow up they are slowly brainwashed to think otherwise. Ridiculous, I know, but I can't help but wonder...

"Mallory, get up!" Jade hisses, shaking my back with her prized possession, a plush Cheshire cat, tucked under one arm. This only reminds me that my own stuffed animals probably aren't in the bed anymore. I yawn and sit up before rolling off the mattress. I find Zippy and Clover on the ground and set them back on the shelf above my bed, next to my backpack.

"You know, I think I'm getting a little more used to your powers. The crash didn't even wake me up this time!"

I scoff and start fixing the bed frame. "Lucky. I don't think I'll ever get used to your powers."

Jade's ability to turn invisible, while useful at times, can be annoying at others. I've been jump-scared one time too many. Roy, on the other hand, doesn't seem to have any powers. Which is odd, since everyone else here does. When I asked Jade about it, she didn't have an answer either. So I guess I'll never know, since he seems so determined to keep his powers a secret. If he even has them.

Jade tosses me a hairbrush just as I finish fixing the bed. I brush my now completely pink hair and pull it into a ponytail just as Jade finishes tying her hair into pigtails. Instead of going into the bathroom to change uniforms, I decide that the one I wore for pjs last night will work for today. We're almost late, so I don't want to slow us down. I tie my shoes, shove Zippy and Clover into my backpack, and run out the door.

"Come on Jade," I yell. A minute later she follows me out, Cheshire cat plushie and backpack in tow. "Aren't we going to be late?"

"If we're not careful," Jade says. "We need to meet with Roy about the plan to get locks for our doors. If Angela's going to keep fighting back like this, we need to be prepared."

I nod my head. Yesterday Angela tried to sneak into our room and trash it. She would've got away with it, too, except her roommate is Roy's roommate's little sister. Naturally, Selinda felt the need to warn us, and I'm glad she did. Otherwise, I'm not sure what would've happened. She had scissors, so I think she might've tried to cut off Clover's head or something. A headless unicorn is not on the list of things I want, so today we're taking all our stuff with us, except for our beds and uniforms and stuff. Well, we did pack one extra change of uniform, just in case. Better safe than sorry.

We hurry to the dining hall, but when we get there we notice that it's a lot quieter than usual. Instead of talking, everyone is anxiously staring at the area that's been cleared- probably for a speech or something. We go through the buffet and take our seats next to Roy. "What's going on?" I ask, pointing to the cleared spot.

Roy shrugs, but his roommate Baran, who's sitting at the table next to ours with his sister, has an answer. "Headmistress has an announcement. Something about Madame Rouge."

A Madame Rouge? What's that?

"About _what_?" I ask.

"Madame Rouge? She's a supervillain. Pretty high up in the ranks, too. She kind of scares me," Selinda admits. "It's just a rumor, though. Headmistress probably just wants to announce our new ranks, now that the old Level H's have graduated. It's about time, too. I've been ready to be an E since before you came here, Jade."

Jade grins. "Maybe we'll get to the C's!"

"You never know," Selinda says, smiling back.

Baran frowns. "Too bad it's just a rumor. Last time The Brotherhood came they sent General Immortus. Old guys aren't much fun."

"What's The Brotherhood?" I ask.

"Do you always have so many questions?" Baran asks. I shrug and he adds, "They're some of the toughest bad guys in the world. They sometimes come here to talk about combat. No big deal."

From the looks on Roy and Jade's faces, I can tell they're surprised about this too, even with their theories. "And they trust these guys around _children_?" Roy asks.

Selinda shrugs. "It's no better than the Justice League, with all their kid sidekicks. I mean, they've got a ton of them! One day one of them is going to get killed or something on the battlefield and _then_ who's to blame?"

Roy's hands ball into fists. "The Justice League tries not to bring them onto dangerous missions, you know. When they do, they usually try to keep us to the sidelines. Especially the younger ones."

His hand flies to his mouth before he can rant anymore. Baran laughs. "Looks like we've got ourselves a nerd, huh?"

Roy hisses something under his breath. Jade jumps to his defense. "I guess he's got a point. It's not like the sidekicks are disposable or anything. Well, I guess you've got the rumor that there's two Speedy's, but I think that's beyond the point. Besides, how did we get to talking about the Justice League? I want to hear about Madame Rouge. How did the rumor start? Why would she even come here in the first place? Do you guys have something she'd want? You know, like a..."

Jade is cut off when the Headmistress steps up to the makeshift podium. The Headmistress taps on the mic and says, "Students, may I have your attention?"

We all turn our heads to her and she smiles. "Okay students, there have been many rumors about a special guest coming to visit, and I'd like to confirm those rumors. We are pleased to announce that Madame Rouge will be here on March 4."

March 4. Since its February 9, that means we have less than a month to prepare. The crowd cheers in joy before the Headmistress shushes us.

"Silence children!" She yells, and we all calm down. "Now, 15 students will be chosen for a special field trip where we will be meeting up with her. She has agreed to give a speech on combat in exchange for, well... that's between the two of us. However, this is an opportunity that is not to be wasted on those who may not be old enough to remember it. For that reason, we are only allowing students in levels E, F, G, and H to participate. Perhaps a level D, if they are mature enough. The participants will be announced on the 20th. Until then, continue to do your best in your classes, especially if you are eligible to be chosen. That is all."

She steps away from the podium as the room erupts with conversation. I turn to Jade and Roy, who seem really disappointed. I'm about to say something when both of them interrupt me.

"I have to go there," they both say in unison.

I sigh. "I know, I want to go too. But there's nothing we can do about it. She clearly said we can't go if we're not in level E."

"No, you don't understand. I have to go there. My job depends on it," Roy whines.

"Your _job_ depends on it? My _life_ depends on it!" Jade whimpers.

"Okay, I think you two are over-exaggerating just a tad bit, don't you think?" When they both shake their heads, I add, "Alright, fine. But you know there's no way to convince her we're old enough. We're 8, 7, and 5-"

"7 and a half," Roy corrects.

"5 and a half," Jade copies.

"Okay, so we're 8, almost 8, and almost 6. That still doesn't change anything in Headmistress's eyes. No matter how much we complain, she still won't let us go."

Jade sighs. "This is the part in movies where they always manage to convince them to bend the rules. If only this was a movie."

Suddenly, an idea pops into my head. "Maybe we can convince Headmistress to bend the rules anyways."

"How?" Jade and Roy ask in unison.

"We just have to prove ourselves. We'll do something so big, she won't have any other choice but to pick us."

My friends turn to each other, as if they're mentally discussing this with each other. Finally, Roy turns to me and asks, "So what's the plan?"

"Who's ready for a little field trip?" I smirk.

… **.**

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or anything else I may mention_

 **Hi again! Sorry it's been a while. I try, but I fail. Does this chapter seem a little rambly to anyone else? I mean, I've read over it a gazillion times, but I just can't think of what would make it better. The frustration of a writer, people.**

 **Reviews:**

 **KF Fan: Lol, yeah. I mean, he probably gave Green Arrow this big speech about how he was the perfect undercover agent, filled of all these fake reasons why, but everyone could tell it was just because he wanted to flirt with the villainesses. And because, you know, this is Green Arrow we're talking about, he probably didn't have the foresight to see what a bad idea it was.**

 **My co-op is starting up in a couple days (it's kind of like a club for homeschoolers where we get to meet with other homeschoolers our age and take classes and stuff like that), but I'm going to try not to let it affect my writing schedule too much. We only meet once a week, so I don't think it** _ **should**_ **mess me up, but you never know. This is the first time I'm going to one, so I'm not that sure what to expect. If I end up liking it, it might inspire an AU or two so keep your eyes out ;)**

 **Anyways, quote of the day!**

" _You don't need a license to drive a sandwich."_ -Spongebob Squarepants

 **May the odds be ever in your favor,**

 **Spectrobes Princess**


	6. Preparations

11/21/15

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or anything else I may mention_

Cursed

Chapter 6: Preparations

That night Jade and I rush through our worksheets, but not for our normal reason (wanting time to play). We go to bed super early, and set the alarm for 2 hours before we normally do. We don't even have our nightly tradition of telling stories until we fall asleep. We just go right to bed.

When we wake up early today, it doesn't bother us as much as it normally would have. Quiet as mice, we go through a sped-up version of our normal morning routine (luckily without my bed breaking, this time) and run out the door and into the janitors closet down the hall where Roy is waiting for us.

"Plan worked like a charm," Roy says, turning on the light switch. "Baran didn't even hear me."

I smirk. "Neither did Jade, at first."

"Hey!" Jade snaps. "I did too hear you! How else would I be standing here?"

We laugh as she crosses her arms. "Calm down, it's just a joke."

"Sure, fine. But do you wanna hear a better joke?" she asks. We nod our heads. "Okay, here it goes. Why did the little boy drop his ice cream? Because he was hit by a bus!"

I don't know how to respond to that, so I just nod my head. "Okaaay then. Roy, did you ask one of the older students how long we have 'til Headmistress wakes up?"

Roy nods his head. "If Baran and Selinda are right, we've got 30 minutes. But if Fang is right we've got at least an hour."

"Okay, let's be on the safe side and trust the siblings. We don't know Fang that well- he might be trying to get us in trouble." I say.

Jade opens the door. "If we've only got half an hour, shouldn't we hurry up?"

"Right. Now, does everyone remember the plan?"

"Get in, find the address to Darkway Prep, and get out. Piece of cake," Roy says. "Lead the way. You're pretty good at this leadership stuff."

"What can I say? I have a little sister. It's only natural that I'm so bossy," I shrug. Jade holds open the door as we walk through it. "So, are we leaving now or tonight?"

Jade frowns. "Why are we deciding? You're the leader."

"I'm just seeing if you guys are ready. If not, we can wait," I explain.

Jade seems to think it over before saying, "I'm ready if Roy is."

"You stole my answer," Roy grumbles. "I guess this means we're leaving now, huh?"

"Sounds like a plan," I say as we turn the corner.

We finally make it to the Headmistress's office. Jade picks the lock (apparently her mysteriously shady friend Lian taught her how) and we sneak in. I start looking in desk drawers while Jade starts searching through the file cabinets. Roy sits down at the desk and turns on the computer. Finally, Jade whispers a quiet, "I found it!"

She grabs the file as Roy starts shutting off the computer. I hear footsteps from down the hall and jump behind Jade, hoping that her powers can shield me somehow. Luckily, they don't open the door. Jade disappears, only to reappear a few seconds later.

"Angela," she whispers. "She must've noticed we weren't in our room when she went to booby trap it or something. Good thing we took our backpacks with us again."

I take a deep breath and ask, "Can I see that file now?"

Jade nods and hands it to me. Her and Roy look over my shoulder as I review the location. Roy is apparently pretty good at reading a map, and there happens to be one in the kitchen, so reaching Darkway shouldn't be too hard. We can also grab food from the kitchen while we're getting the map. In other words, we're good to go. We should be able to leave immediately.

We run down the hall, careful to avoid Angela. When we reach the kitchen, Jade tears down the map as I start raiding the cabinets. I completely forget about Roy until I hear him ask, "Hey, why does the light on the stove say "do not touch" if it isn't on?"

"I don't know, that thing takes a while to shut off," I shrug. I've been in here before because I was incredibly bored one day and I wanted to help the chefs out. They put me in charge of stirring the mac and cheese until the cheese melted, so I know enough about the stove to know that it can take quite a few hours to shut off. I guess this means someone was in here earlier. Or someone's using the kitchen, and they just left for a minute. We'll just have to be careful on the way out.

"Do not touch, huh? I'll show them! I'm gonna touch it."

"Jade no!"

Before I can react, Jade has already yelled "TOUCH!" and slammed her entire hand on the burner. A loud scream splits through the air. I drop the bananas I was holding and run to her, but Roy reaches her first. Why does she always do this to us?

"Turn on cold water! Hurry!" Roy snaps.

I nod my head and turn on the tap. Holding my hand under the water, I wait until it's plenty cold before telling him it's ready. Jade sobs as she runs the cold water over her hand, whimpering about how bad of an idea that was and how sorry she is. Roy grabs a first aid kit while I finish packing up the food. Over the past few months, I've learned that Jade and Roy can pretty much be counted on to do something stupid like this every week. Okay, fine, I do stupid stuff too. Although it bothered me at first, I've learned to deal with it. We'll put a Band-Aid on that thing when we put some distance between us and the HIVE.

I listen for a moment before hearing footsteps from down the hall. Drat, Jade's scream must've got someone's attention. I zip up my backpack as fast as I can and gently shock Roy in the leg to get his attention. He turns off the water, thus making Jade a little mad, but she understands when he points to the emergency exit. I grab our three backpacks and the file, Jade gets some wet paper towels to wrap her hand in, and Roy scoops her up in his arms. We run out the door as fast as we can while still being quiet. Hopefully they didn't see us. Otherwise, we'll be in an insane amount of trouble if this plan fails.

After running for a while, Roy finally complains, "Can we stop now? I'm getting tired. Jade needs to cut down on the cupcakes."

"Never!" Jade announces. "Plus I'm actually right at the average weight for my age, so ha! And anyways, you're the one who chose to carry me. My hand is hurt, not my legs."

Roy rolls his eyes and sets her on the ground. "Gee, I was just giving you time to get your hand wrapped up. That's what I get for being nice, huh?"

Jade grins. "Well, it was sweet of you, but we have other things to worry about right now. Mallory, do you know where we're going?"

I look around the city streets and hand Roy his backpack. "It looks like we're on Main Street in Split City. Roy, can you tell us where we need to go next?"

Roy unzips his backpack and pulls out the map. I hand him the file and he looks both of them over before announcing, "If the map's right, we're only a couple hours away."

"Good, then we'll be back soon, right?"

Roy frowns. "We should be, but... what if we get caught?"

I copy his frown. I hadn't thought of that.

"Well, we'll just have to hope I'm lucky for once."

…

 **Hi again! Ugh, I'm so, so, so sorry that it took so long to get this posted. Honestly I'm just so lazy and I have the** _ **worst**_ **Tumblr addiction. I've been meaning to start only going on there on certain days or under certain circumstances, but I keep saying I will and never committing to it. My NaNoWriMo word count is suffering for it, too. If I can get 25,000 words I'll consider it good at this point.**

 **This chapter is dedicated to my precious baby kitty, Silkie, who died in his sleep last night. I'm so sorry buddy. I'm sorry I didn't try harder to save you, and that I didn't beg my parents more to let you stay inside when I realized you were sick. I'm sorry I was gone for most of yesterday, your last day to be alive. But most of all I'm sorry I didn't stay outside longer last night. If I knew that was the last time I'd see you alive, I would've stayed up all night. We would've taken more selfies together and I would've dangled my hair over your face so you could catch it like you did when you were a kitten one last time. We thought you'd make it. I didn't realize that was our goodbye. I just… should've done more. I'm a poor excuse for an owner. Rest in peace my little bumgorf, I'll miss you forever :'(**

 **Sorry if that was too angsty. I never handle the death of a pet very well, and this is one I've raised since kittenhood and known since he was a newborn. He was so young, too (his first birthday was in September). Even though my mom (who along with my brother is being really insensitive about this whole thing) doesn't think animals go to Heaven, I do. And honestly, one of the only things that can comfort me right now is the thought of my other deceased pets showing him around, helping him cope. I'm sure Stella and Flake especially will take care of him. I'm afraid Tippy may overwhelm him, though, but then again he pretty much acted like Silkie in the form of a sheepdog so I guess he'll be alright.**

 **Anyways, again I'm sorry for being so angsty. Thank you everyone who's reading for putting up with my not-updating crap, and for all of those who have followed, reviewed, and added this story to your favorites. You guys are awesome!**

 **If you've got any questions about the story, feel free to ask! If they're too spoiler-ish, I might not answer them, but you never know. It'll probably depend on how chatty I'm feeling come time to post the next chapter (which I'm hoping to do next Saturday, along with updating the next chapter of my Johanna centric Hunger Games story- speaking of The Hunger Games, the new movie is fantastic!).**

 **Quote of the day! (even though I'm sure Cheshire's twisted joke at the beginning of the chapter could've counted as one if I wanted it to)**

" _Pull the lever Kronk! ….WRONG LEVER! Why do we even_ _ **have**_ _that lever?!"_ –The Emperor's New Groove, Yzma

 **Evil beware: we have waffles,**

 **-Spectrobes Princess**


	7. Darkway Prep

12/12/15

Cursed

Chapter 7: Darkway Prep

 _Legal disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans, Alice in Wonderland, Frozen, or anything else I may mention_

 _ **A special disclaimer for the fandom:**_ _In life, it is highly unrealistic to stay with your first love your entire life. This is the case with Jinx. While my endgame is for her to end up with Kid Flash like she did in the series, she will have other romantic relationships before this can happen- such as her flirting with Cyborg when we get to Deception, and her relationship with Kid Kold (as seen in the show's spinoff comics- while I don't use most of those as cannon in my stories, I do use some of the concepts). For the record, just because I have to write about those relationships for the story to be cannon does not mean I ship them nor does it mean it will last forever (well, Flinx probably will, but still, you know what I mean). Just thought I'd remind you guys before you start wondering if I've replaced Wally._

….

A giant building towers in front of us, casting a shadow in our direction. Almost mockingly, it dares us to enter into its trap. If our plan is to succeed, we must obey it no matter how scary that task may be.

Darkway Prep. The prissiest boarding school in all of America, although few dare to send their children. Unlike the HIVE Academy, this place is upfront about their villainous intentions. The two schools have a rivalry that has been going on for as long as anyone can remember. And that's why it means so much to our plan to meet Madame Rouge. If we can break in and steal the Headmaster's prized possession (his cane, because he's as old as dirt), maybe Headmistress will take us seriously. It may sound like a long shot, but do we really have another choice? Jade and Roy both seem pretty set on meeting this "Madame Rouge", even though I personally can't care less.

I turn to my trembling friends and give them a thumbs us. Jade weakly returns it, and Roy takes a break from bandaging her burned hand to copy her. He finishes it up and puts the first aid kit back in his bag, along with the map. I feel a thrill inside of me. This is my first mission. Just like the ones The Flash goes on. I smile at the thought. Being his sidekick has always been a dream of mine, even though I only got my powers recently. A lot of kids at school used to tease me about it, but I never cared. They could love Batman all they wanted to, but it wasn't going to change my mind. Besides, if 100 kids want to meet Wonder Woman but only 1 kid wants to meet Hawkgirl, who do you think is gonna get their wish?

I pull myself out of my thoughts. I can daydream all I want after we're done, but I can't be distracted right now.

"You guys ready to go?" I whisper. Roy nods his head. "Okay, me too. Jade? Can you cloak us?"

Jade frowns. "I don't have very much control over my powers, but I'll try."

The next thing I know, I can't see my own hand in front of me. I try to clap my hands together, but instead of feeling my own skin I feel a cool air like substance.

Roy must sense my confusion, so he says, "Jade's powers are more of evaporation than normal invisibility. While it does mean it's even harder to be spotted, it can be a little confusing."

"Oh," I whisper, touching my arm only to once again be greeted by air. "I guess that makes a little sense. Come on, let's get inside."

We sneak around to the back entrance, our shoes crunching on the leaves that lay scattered on the ground. I wiggle the doorknob and find it to be unlocked. How stupid are these people, anyways? After scanning the area for any sign of more people, we tip toe through the door. A gust of hot air from the heater reminds me of how cold it was outside. I didn't even notice earlier. Weird. Motioning for the others to follow me, I walk down the hallways decorated with newspaper clippings of their past students crimes. Again, how dumb are these people? I mean, I get that the location of the school is classified information and all, but what happens when a member of the Justice League accidently stumbles in here? Does the Headmaster just think he won't get arrested or something?

In yet another instance of his stupidity, I find a map of the school printed clearly on one of the walls that even includes the location of the Headmaster's office. Not only that, but the map is conveniently located right next to a fire alarm. Oh no, I wonder how we will _ever_ sneak into his office… not!

Without another thought, I pull the fire alarm and we duck into a nearby bathroom. The bell rings, and shrieks of panic fill the air. I can't help but laugh at how unprepared everyone seems to be. Footsteps echo in the hallways as a teacher yells out emergency protocol, but I doubt anyone's listening. Jade pulls our shield down and leans against the wall. I guess invisibility takes more energy than I thought it did. It makes sense I guess. My energy zaps (or hexes, as Barron and Selinda like to call them- in a way I like it better) drain my energy too, but I always assumed it was because my powers were so new and I wasn't used to them yet. Maybe all powers are like this? I can't really imagine Superman having to take a nap, though.

"I love bathroom graffiti," Roy whispers, gesturing to the scribbles on the walls. "Kate loves ice cream. Headmaster Mod sucks. Jimmy and Monica forever. Forever is like two weeks because Monica is a backstabbing... what's this word mean?"

I look at the word and try to figure out what it says. "Isn't that a type of tree?"

"No, that's birch. This has a t in it," Roy says.

Jade chokes back a laugh. "Guys, that's a bad word."

"How do you know?" Roy asks.

Jade smirks. "Cuz Lian called Talia that and then she remembered I was there and told me not to say it until I'm at least 15."

I don't know who Talia is, but I nod my head anyways. Roy, on the other hand, doesn't even try to stop laughing. "Oooh, so she said a bad word!"

Jade slaps a hand over his mouth and shushes him. I hear high heels clicking on floor outside of the bathroom and hold my breath. It stops and I sigh in relief. "Hey guys? What bathroom did we go in?"

"Does it really matter?" Roy asks, pulling Jade's hand off his mouth. "Life or death situation, remember?"

Jade smirks. "You just don't wanna admit you went into the ladies room!"

"Did not!"

"Come on, let's go!" I whisper, the bathroom problem all but forgotten. Roy was right, this really isn't the time to be worried about stupid things like that. This doesn't, however, stop me from smirking at the pink sign on the door on my way out. Ha, victory!

Jade takes the lead, shielding us with her superpowers every time she spots a security camera. We take the stairs instead of the elevator to avoid suspicion, but I guess it won't really matter because we'll have to open doors later anyways.

As I'm walking up the stairs I have to remind myself to keep moving instead of looking at the pictures of students hanging on the walls. Although I'd never admit it out of my head, this place looks really cool. It looks much more like a normal school than the HIVE does. I almost forget how much I miss it.

I shake my head, forcing my attention away from both the picture of a blonde girl standing next to Killer Moth and all thoughts of my old school. My normal school would never accept me, not with the way I look now, and I doubt they'd help me with my powers the way the Headmistress has. I keep walking and try not to think about it anymore, but it's not as easy as it sounds.

We get to the top of the steps and walk through the maze of hallways that greets us. The Headmaster's office is easy enough to find, which is pretty funny to me considering that our Headmistress's office is hidden so well. Roy looks around the corner to make sure no one's coming before he opens the door. We step inside, but I can't help but feel like it shouldn't be this easy. The feeling only gets worse when I see the cane lying abandoned on the ground, begging to be taken. It's almost as though this is a trap, and they want us to know it.

As though he's reading my mind, Roy looks around nervously before asking, "Guys? Are we sure it's safe?"

"I… don't know," I say, carefully taking a step towards the cane.

It's weird how much you can tell about the elderly from what kind of cane they carry. For example, the Headmaster of Darkway Prep owns a cane fit for a king. The bottom of it is made of gold, and on top is a shining red ruby. How did he get this? Did he steal it? Or is his school just that successful? With these questions in mind, I step forwards and take the cane. Luckily, it's a lot lighter than I thought it would be. My teacher in 1st grade had a cane, and it was really heavy. The metal feels warm in my hands, as if someone has touched it recently. The reality of the situation hits me. Are we really about to steal something?

The sound of a door opening freezes me in my tracks. We are officially dead.

I spin around and see two boys standing in the doorway. One who has silvery, metal looking skin, and a redhead who would've looked normal if it weren't for the snowflakes shooting from his wrists. For a reason I can't explain, the snow absolutely captures my attention. Despite the blast being aimed at us, there's just something so beautiful about it. The first grade teacher once again comes to mind, teaching us about how no two snowflakes are exactly alike. Maybe that's why I'm so mesmerized- this boy can create works of art in the blink of an eye, without so much as thinking about it.

"Who are you?" he asks, glaring at us.

Despite the situation, Jade giggles. "You know who you remind me of? That caterpillar on Alice in Wonderland. Oh, and Elsa."

The stone boy crosses his arms. "Leo asked you a question, punk. Answer it or you'll be talking to my fists!"

"Wow, someone needs to _let it go_ ," Roy snickers.

My voice returns to me before my idiot friends can do more damage. "Look, Leo, right? No hard feelings, but we're here to take something that doesn't belong to us. Please leave or we'll be forced to call the cops."

For some reason, this seems to shock stone boy long enough for me to toss the cane to Jade. Maybe he's never had anyone talk back to him? Who knows, he looks too angry for me to ask him. He lunges at Jade, but before he can attack her she grabs Roy's hand with her burnt one and jumps out of the open window leading to the fire escape. With a smirk, I spin around and run towards my freedom. That is, until I slip on the covering of ice now coating the floor.

Fortunately, I'm smart enough to remember my powers. What else is there to do in times like this than hex the crap out of these guys? They both scream in pain as the pink energy zaps hit them. Hexing them again just to be sure, I slide on my butt to the window, using the ledge to pull myself up. Without another word to them, I backflip into the fire escape.

I laugh, grabbing onto the railing and running down the steps. Piece of cake, right? It surprises me, how natural this feels. Running, fighting… whatever this was. I just feel so… free. As if no one can stop me. Like no one can control me. The exact opposite of what I felt with the witch- and what I felt at home, with my parents. I review these feelings as I run away with my friends. Maybe this is the kind of life I was meant to live. Sure, it goes against what my parents and heroes always taught me, but who am I to argue with destiny?

Turning around, I catch a glance at Leo. "You just got lucky, that's all!" He yells.

I laugh again, the feeling of freedom still there. "Lucky's just what I am! Deal with it!"

Adding a wink, I turn back around and keep running. A weird feeling stirs through me. I can't help but wonder if I'll ever see that kid again. It wasn't like he was nice to me or anything, but there was just something about him…

Whatever it was, there was certainly a connection of some kind. And while I'll survive if we never meet again, I'm definitely looking forward to the possibility of our paths crossing in the future. Besides, I have a feeling this isn't the last I'll see of him, whether that's a good thing or a bad.

…

 **Don't get mad at me for putting Kid Kold in here. It's like I said, Jinx belongs with Kid Flash. She just doesn't realize it yet.**

 **(man, that awkward moment when you want to use a past relationship in your stories but you're writing a backstory and you REALLY don't want to write about that relationship :/)**

 **So now that we have that cleared up, I'm sorry it took a little longer to update than I originally anticipated. I'll try to get the update done sooner next time.**

 **Thank you SecretCodeLyokan for following and favoriting, AmayaSarana for favoriting, and greenluvr14 for favoriting.**

 **Review Responses-**

 **Opinionated Shipper- Thanks, it was kind of a rough day for me, but at the same time updating kind of helped me cheer up a little. I'm feeling a lot better about it now :)**

 **SecretCodeLyokan- Thank you! You'll be proud to know that I've started going on Tumblr about half as much as I used to… but you'll be not-so-proud to know that I did it so I can spend more time on Facebook. Oops.**

 **Ratcoon- Yeah :(**

 **So, I need some advice of the fanfiction sort… I have this great idea for a Christmas fanfiction, but the problem is that I don't know 100% where I'm going with it nor if I'll be able to get it all written by Christmas time. But at the same time, I'm the type of person who's constantly paranoid so I'm worried that if I don't write it now something will happen and I'll never be able to write it. Also, I just really, really want to write what I have so far. But at the same time if I post it now, it takes place after some fanfictions that I have yet to write so I'd have to spoil a few things. So my options at this point seem to be a) go ahead and write a rough draft and wait until next year to post a masterpiece or b) go ahead and post it as I go, not really caring about the fact that I may very well be updating in July, risking it being not quite as good as I hoped it would be. Honestly I'm leaning towards the second one, but I still want some other opinions on it. Just waiting to write it until next year just isn't an option, despite the fact that I have so many other fanfics to work on at the moment.**

 **The main plot so far is that Batman invites Robin to celebrate Christmas with him and The Justice League "just like old times", but at the same time he was planning a Christmas party with the other Titans. So now he's kind of stuck, as are the rest of the Titans who are also sidekicks. There's going to be some other mandatory Christmas side plots too, such as Robin struggling to find a present for Starfire, Tula trying (and miserably failing) to get Aqualad under the mistletoe, and all the Titans 13 and under (as well as Beast Boy and Terra because that's just an expression of who they are)** _ **begging**_ **for it to snow.**

 **There's also the not so typical Christmas side plots of the HIVE trying to be good for Jinx's sake, and Jinx herself trying not to murder Kid Flash because that dummy was the one who suggested she get back in contact with her family and she regrets it because now she has to live right next door to this freaking annoying kid named Wally and even though he got her into this mess KF still won't fess up to his secret identity (come on Wally- I mean, Kid Flash, it's all she wants for Christmas!).**

 **So yeah, please let me know what you think.**

 **Quote of the day!**

" _This really is a great long-term plan. It has all the wit and wisdom of a Kardashian tweet."_ –the "Adopt a Sarcastic Line" forum on the NaNoWriMo forums.

 **Titans Go!**

 **~Spectrobes Princess**


	8. Dinah

2/6/16

Cursed

Chapter 8: Dinah

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or anything else I may mention._

…

I manage to put all thoughts of Leo out of my mind so I can focus on the mission at hand. Getting home should be a lot easier than taking the trip here, but I still want to keep my mind clear. I am in charge here, after all, and Headmistress says that leaders need to clear their mind of all distractions.

We walk for a while before reaching Split City. The walk doesn't take nearly as long as I remember it, which comes as a relief. My feet are starting to hurt, and we didn't eat breakfast this morning. The food in our backpacks has been tempting me all day, and there's nothing I want more than to grab my bottle of water and take a nice long drink. I'm sure my little team is thinking the same thing, so I take the map from Roy and look around for a park. I suggest the break to my team, and they happily and readily agree.

It takes us about 15 minutes to find the park. I'm disappointed that there isn't a playground, even though we're not here to play. I haven't gotten to play outside since the witch captured me, and by the disappointed looks on Jade and Roy's faces it seems to be even longer since they have. Still, we suck it up and sit down on a bench in the middle of the park, next to a lake filled with ducks.

Jade unzips one of the backpacks and wordlessly passes out our lunch. I forget all things similar to manners and immediately begin scarfing down an apple. When I finally remember what manners even are, I realize that Roy and Jade don't seem to be following them either. With a shrug, I follow their lead and messily move to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It's nice having no adult supervision.

Unfortunately, this doesn't last long. A woman with long, shiny blonde hair starts slowly walking over to us. Drat. What will she do to us? Tell the police we're here without an adult? And then they'll find out we're with the HIVE, and if Jade and Roy's rumors are true they'll arrest us! I swallow the lump in my throat and force myself to look at her. Her eyes scan us for a moment before they eventually settle on Roy. I turn to him to see his reaction, and surprisingly enough he smiles.

"Hey Dinah!"

She smiles back at him and he gets up and throws his arms around her. She laughs and returns the action. "I missed you too, Roy," she says.

I smile at the scene, but I'm still confused as to who this woman is and what her intentions are. She could be a crazy axe murderer for all I know. Not that I couldn't defend, myself, but still.

I guess Roy and the blonde woman finally remember that we're here, so they let go of each other and Roy goes back to the bench.

"Who are your friends?" the woman asks, her eyes filled with worry. But for what? Does she distrust us?

"This is Jade and Mallory. Girls, this is my friend Dinah," Roy says. He seems a little nervous, as if he doesn't want her to be here, but from his earlier actions I would've thought he was happy to see her. It doesn't help that Roy and Jade themselves are usually pretty mysterious as it is. Can't I just have one friend who's open with me?

Dinah smiles. "It's nice to meet you."

Jade is practically beaming. "Are you the Dinah who knocked out five men in a dark alley in under a minute?" she asks, her eyes glittering with wonder.

Wait, she did what?

"Yes, but that wasn't supposed to leave the room, _Roy_ ," she says, glaring at my friend.

He shrugs, shoving his hands in his pockets. "What are you supposed to tell a pretty girl who's obsessed with the ultra-violence? That I have normal friends? I think not!"

Jade tilts her head. "You think I'm pretty?"

"Wait, you really did that?" I ask. "Wow! You must be as strong as Wonder Woman!"

"I wish," Dinah says. Her smile turns into a frown. "What are you kids doing out here by yourselves anyways? Are you lost?"

I can't help it. I panic.

"N-no, we're just, you know, we're… doing school stuff! Yeah, school stuff! We have a scavenger hunt around the city. We're just stopping to eat lunch."

And once again, the day was saved thanks to my horrible lying skills! Or the Powerpuff Girls. Whatever floats your boat.

"I see," Dinah says, but something tells me she doesn't completely buy it. "Well, I need to go. It was good to see you Roy."

"Wait!" Roy yells, digging into his backpack. "I have something for Bruce!"

Dinah nods her head. "Right, I forgot."

After digging around for a minute, he grabs an envelope and tosses his hand into the air triumphantly. He hands it to her, and she takes it from him. His hand lingers on the envelope for a moment before he finally lets go. Her eyes soften, and she wraps her arms around him again.

"Stay safe, okay?" I hear her whisper. It's faint, as if intended for his ears only, but I guess she wasn't quiet enough. Kind of like my mom when she would tell me she loved me when she was dropping me off at school. I was always so embarrassed because none of the other parents would make such a big scene. But now that they're gone and I know I'll never see them again, and even if I did they'd hate me. I can't help but miss it. Do they miss me, too? Does Felicity even remember who I am? Or am I just another face that has come into my family's lives and left without a trace?

I hold back my tears because I'm a big girl, the oldest of my friends, and I refuse to let them see me cry. Headmistress always says that a leader never lets his (or her) group see any signs of weakness from them. After all, no one wants a weak leader.

"Goodbye Dinah," Roy says quietly.

Dinah only nods her head. She brushes a tear out of her eyes and clutches the envelope before turning around and walking away. There are many things I want to know, such as how he knows Dinah and who Bruce is, but out of all the questions there's one thing I really want to know. And the more time passes, the more the question of what was in that letter will burn in the back of my mind.

… **.**

 **Hi again! I'm really sorry for the amount of time it took me to update. Between the holidays, friends who live 10 hours away visiting, and getting flooded out of my house, things have been kind of hectic. Also I have to write a research paper on marine pollution for school, so most of the time I was using to write has been used to read through my books and find articles and stuff. Blah.**

 **This was my first time writing Black Canary, to be honest. I'm pretty sure I messed up the characterization a little, but I don't think it was** _ **horrible**_ **. Still, I want to know what you think. I'm always a little shaky about working with new characters.**

 **Anyways, thanks for the follows, favorites, and reviews! I didn't end up writing the Christmas fanfiction yet, in case anyone was wondering, but I'm kind of hoping to have it done in time for this year. In fact, I think I might do it for one of my NaNoWriMo projects, camp or otherwise.**

 **Quote of the day!**

" _Lex, you're having a difficult day… hmm… if nothing else I can learn The Flash's secret identity. *takes off mask* …I have no idea who this is."_ –Justice League, Lex Luthor

 **Titans Go!**

 **Spectrobes Princess**


	9. Home Again

4/9/16

Cursed

Chapter 9: Home Again

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or anything else I may mention._

….

I give Roy plenty of time to cheer up before suggesting we leave. He seems grateful for it, and soon enough we're on the road again. Even though the cane isn't that heavy it feels really awkward sticking out of my backpack, but the thought of making my team happy keeps me going. We're so close to making it home, we just can't give up now! And I just know that the Headmistress will be proud of us for being strong enough to make our own mission. There's no way she can be mad at us, since I've always heard her whining about how we need to take Mr. Mod's cane from him. Now, she has to let us go meet Madame Rouge!

Bubbling with excitement, I skip ahead of my tired friends and straighten the straps on my backpack. "C'mon slowpokes!" I giggle before tripping over thin air.

Ouch.

"Oh no!" Jade squeaks as her and Roy rush to my aid.

"Are you okay?" Roy digs into his backpack to grab the first aid kit, but I grab his arm to stop him. He looks at me confused, gesturing to my skinned knee.

I wipe away the blood with the palm of my hand. "I'm fine, really. It just stings a little, that's all."

"Yeah, but it's bleeding. At least put a band aid on it- you're gonna get an infection if you don't," Roy scowls.

I shrug, rubbing my bloody hand on the skirt of my uniform. "Fine by me. Just saying it doesn't hurt, that's all."

Roy hands me a wet wipe and a band aid and steps back so I can clean it up. I use the wipe to dab away the rest of the blood on my knee. Once I'm satisfied that it's clean enough, I unwrap the band aid and carefully stick it over the scrape. The side pocket of my backpack makes the perfect place to store my trash until we can get back to school, so I stash it there as I force myself to stand up. I feel a burst of pride when I manage to do it without so much as wincing. Six months ago I would've been crying my eyes out, but I guess between the Witch and the HIVE I've toughened up a little.

"There," I announce proudly. "If anyone asks, it's just a battle wound."

"Okay Roy," Jade laughs. "I got burned, Mallory fell, now it's your turn!"

Roy rolls his eyes. "Very funny."

"No, seriously, I bet you'll get stung by a wasp or something on our way back."

"I highly doubt it, since I can see the HIVE from here."

This catches my attention. If it's so close, how come I didn't see it?

"Wait, what?" Jade asks, apparently surprised as well.

"Yeah," Roy says. "Why, did you not notice it or something?"

I turn around and see the school building sitting just in my line of vision. Well, now I feel like the biggest idiot in town. A grin plasters itself on Jade's face as she grabs our arms.

"C'mon, come on, let's go," she says, pulling me and Roy towards our destination. "Maybe we can get back in time for science!"

Me and Roy copy her smile, but not really because of science- powers class more of my thing, and Roy seems to like math. The thought of seeing the look on the Headmistress's face is more of what keeps me going, rather than school itself. I'm not sure about Roy, but then again the only thing I'm absolutely sure about that kid is that he loves his hair and Jade (probably in that order, too). Either way, all three of us are ready to get back.

Until, that is, we see Angela waiting for us at the front door with a smug look on her face that says it all.

We're in trouble.

...

The good news is that the Headmistress hasn't killed us yet. The bad news is that we're currently sitting in her office getting the biggest lecture of our lifetimes, and worse yet Angela is sitting there like a smug little angel who has done nothing wrong, soaking in the glory of being "that one good kid who does what she's told". Gag me.

"I cannot believe you children! Sneaking out without the permission of your elders and betters, giving no indication of where you plan to be, neglecting important responsibilities such as your own education..."

"Yeah," Angela sneers. "You should be ashamed!"

"We're sorry," I manage to whisper. "We just thought... if we brought you the cane, you'd reconsider."

The Headmistress stops her ranting, a puzzled expression settling onto her face. "What cane? You wouldn't happen to mean..."

"Yes ma'am," I say, a little louder this time. Roy pulls the cane out of my backpack and hands it to her. The smirk on Angela's face is instantly replaced with one of pure horror. This gives me the confidence needed to continue. "We've heard you talk about how special it is to the other teachers, and we thought if we could retrieve it for you, you'd take us more seriously. We're sorry if we've disappointed or angered you. We honestly thought we were helping the HIVE to be a better school."

Wow, that came from _my_ mouth? Who would've thought?

The Headmistress's wide eyes twinkle with delight. A smile warps onto her usually stotic face, and before we know it she's laughing. It's kind of scary, actually. Remind me to never tell her that knock-knock joke about bananas and oranges.

"You really went all the way to Split City? And by yourselves?"

"Well... yeah, I guess..." I mumbled, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed about my speech earlier. I bet I sounded so stupid.

The Headmistress turns the cane over in her hands, as if she's examining every inch of it. She looks disappointed for a moment though, before she brushes it off. I guess she just really wanted to get the cane by herself.

"Sorry if you wanted to go there yourself," I decide to tell her awkwardly.

She shakes her head. "No, that's not it... just... it doesn't have the power rumored. I guess the philosopher's stone is only a myth after all," she says with a sigh.

"Isn't that the name of a book or something?" Jade asks as the intercom buzzes to life.

"Excuse me ma'am, the headmaster of Darkway Prep is here to see you. Something about his cane?"

Headmistress nods her head. "Send old Mod in I suppose." She then turns to us and adds, "For your bravery and initiative, you will be promoted to Level C. Do not think about trying this again. Mark my words, next time I will be less forgiving. You are dismissed."

"Yes ma'am," we chorus, walking out the door.

I hear Angela complaining about how it isn't fair that we got to go up a level when no one else has, even though we disobeyed the rules. To be fair, I've never heard her say anything about leaving the building before. Sure, the skipping class thing may have been a little out of line, but then again I've never heard The Headmistress say anything against that either. So does that mean we were completely justified? After all, she did seem rather impressed with us.

"Mallory?" Jade asks weakly.

"Yeah?"

"We still don't get to meet Madame Rouge. We failed," Jade says.

I turn around to look at her. Her usual grin has been replaced by a frown, and she looks like she's about to cry. She really does believe that her life is on the line, doesn't she? I'm about to try and comfort her, but Roy beats me to it as usual. His arms are wrapped around her before I can so much as think about taking another step.

"It's okay. We'll find a way," he promises. I nod my head in agreement, feeling more and more like a third wheel. Jade looks up at him, just barely, and nods her head before pushing herself away from him.

She grins, her eyes regaining their usual light, and shakes off any sign that she was ever sad. "Well come on then! What are we waiting for! Let's start planning!"

Roy copies her expression in an instant, grabbing her non-burned wrist as they run off towards our room or his. I shake my head and run after them because there's no way I'm letting them have all the fun. I may not care that much about Madame Rouge, but I do care about my friends and I'll do anything for them. No matter what.

…..

 **Sorry for the unreasonable amount of time it took to update. My research paper crushed my soul and left me unwilling to type for the longest time. And then, you know, there's my Tumblr addiction I have to work around, but I'm starting to get over that (kind of). The trick is to go on and only let yourself see ten posts, and then you exit out. Then when you feel the urge to go back on, you'll hit a dead end on your dashboard much sooner. It only works about 50% of the time for me though, since I tend to forget I'm supposed to stop after 10 posts.**

 **Quote of the day!**

" _Oooh, scary. We saw you groveling at Krux's feet!"_ -Rallen (after listening to Jado's villainous monologue), Spectrobes Origins

 **Don't be fooled by how non-threatening that makes him sound. He's impossible to beat.**

 **Thank you everyone who followed/reviewed/added this story to their favorites. I'm kind of pressed on time so I can't mention everyone by name, but you're all still appreciated. :)**

 **Titans go!**

 **~Spectrobes Princess**


	10. Flight or Fight

5/1/16

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or anything else I may mention._

… **.**

Chapter 10: Flight or Fight

As promised, when we woke up this morning we had received our new class schedules. It's official: we're now Level C's. The news should make me happy, but it doesn't. All it does is fill me with an overwhelming desire to continue climbing the ranks, to become better than everyone in my class.

Better than everyone in the world.

I keep quiet about these feelings, though, to avoid chasing my friends away. Instead I quietly go over them as we go from class to class. It's a bit of a struggle, playing catch-up with the older students, but I relish the challenge and so do Jade and Roy. When we break for lunch, the only thing our little group can focus on is how cool it is to be learning with the older kids. This excitement only grows when Selinda tells us that powers class for the C's usually focuses on training individual powers. Therefore, we get to go to the gym and work on our powers as we see fit.

When the time comes around, I feel so excited that I don't think anything can ever change that. Not even the fact that Angela got promoted with us. I skip into the gym, arms linked with Jade and pink sparks tingling around my wrists. Part of me knows I need to calm down before the hexes grow out of control and hurt someone, but it's one thing to know you need to calm down and another to actually calm down. The teacher gives us our instructions (which can pretty much be summed up as, "don't kill anybody") and sends us on our way to our stations.

Immediately, the obstacle course catches my eye. I've been on it with one of the simplest settings before, back when Headmistress had Baran help me with my powers, but now I can put it on whatever setting I want. There isn't a limit this time! Suddenly, I know exactly how I'm going to spend the next two hours.

Unfortunately, this plan has a bit of a roadblock to it.

And by a bit of a roadblock, I mean a really stupid, really ugly, mean, jerk-faced no good whiny pathetic loser roadblock.

Angela.

"Excuse me, but this is my obstacle course," she says. Her voice is laced with fake sweetness, but I can sense the ugliness and anger behind her tone.

I try to react as nicely as possible. After all, maybe this time she won't be so difficult and we can avoid a confrontation.

"Sorry Angie, but I was here first," I say sweetly yet smugly. She hates being called Angie.

Okay, so maybe I just ruined my chances of avoiding a fight with the nickname, but I'll be darned if it wasn't worth it. The way her face twists in rage is absolutely priceless. Her eyebrows push down on her yellow eyes, and her lips curl back like a cat about to hiss. In fact, despite the fact that she doesn't have fire powers, I'd even say there's steam coming out of her ears! I can't help myself. I start laughing at how ridiculous she looks.

"What stupid?" she snaps, seething with rage.

"Y-your face," I cackle.

"What's wrong with how I look? I am a warrior of Thanagar!"

"Really? I didn't know that. That's really cool! But... you don't look like Hawkman and Hawkgirl."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just... your wings are so small. I mean, I get that they can change size and everything, but I've never seen the other Thanagarians do that. And if you're a warrior of Thanagar, why aren't you training there?"

For whatever reason, this strikes a nerve with Angela. She immediately stamps her foot on the ground and screams, "Well yeah, but where are your parents? Huh! I bet they kicked you out! You're nothing but a freak, and you look stupid! I bet your parents don't even love you!"

Tears form in my eyes. "Shut up Angela! Just shut up!"

"Aw, are you gonna cry now? That's so pathetic! You're nothing but a whiney little wimp! No wonder your parents don't care. If you even have parents."

Before I can even think, a pink hex flies out of my hand and hits Angela on the shoulder. I jump forwards and push her to the ground, punching her face.

"Shut up!" I scream.

Her wings expand, and she uses them to toss herself off the ground. I flail around in the air for a brief second before falling to the ground with a sickening thud. Angela swoops down and grabs me, dangling me by the arm. Using the arm she's holding me by, I shoot a hex and hit her in the face. Startled, she drops me. I continue shooting hexes at her as Roy and Jade run up to catch me. They're not quite fast enough, but Selinda is.

Wait, Selinda? How did she get here?

"Go get her Mal!" she grins, setting me down.

I give her a thumbs-up before Angela swoops down again. I shoot her hands as they're about to grab me, and then I shoot her again in the wings. She falls to the ground, leaning forwards to push me over in the process. She lands on top of me and wraps her sweaty hands around my neck. Her thumb presses against my throat, and my lungs feel like they're full of cotton. I try to breathe, but I can't. Ringing fills my ears, and my vision starts to blur. In a desperate plea for my life, I knee her in the stomach and roll over, pinning her down. Angela's screams fill the air as she lets go of my neck.

She pushes me off of her, leaving me lying on the ground and gasping for air. Slowly, I start to breathe again, but my lungs ache and I can barely move. Someone puts their arm around me and helps me sit up as I lean against them. A small group forms around me, quietly asking if I'm okay. I give them a shaky thumbs-up, but the world seems blurry and distorted, and I feel dizzy.

"Hey, it's alright. We've got you," someone says. I nod my head in response, but then my head starts to hurt too much so I stop.

My world stops shaking, and I start to see clearly again. My lungs burn as I take a deep breath, but it feels good so I take another. Selinda and Baran, the ones holding me up, slowly help me to my feet. Jade and Roy stand in front of me, worry written on their faces.

"What are you guys doing here? You're not C's," I rasp.

"Our D class -I swear, they better promote us to E's soon- got out early so we thought we'd come watch you three practice. Good thing we did, too- it seems like most of the class was rooting for Angela. Not that you absolutely needed our support. You did great! She took a pretty bad beating!"

"Nah," Baran says, waving his hand dismissively. "Angela isn't hurt THAT bad. She's just being a wuss. There's no way the weight of a twiggy eight year old is enough to crush her wings. She's been pinned by worse. But still, that wasn't bad kid."

"Thanks," I say. My eyes wander to where the rest of the class has gathered around Angela, babying her and bowing to her every need. "You really think her wings will be okay? I mean, I hate her guts and all, but I don't want to keep her from flying."

Jade laughs. "Of course she'll be fine! Haven't you seen her spar before?"

I shake my head, but wish I didn't. The dizziness returns, and I have to force myself not to vomit.

"Well anyways, she does this every time."

"Yeah, whenever she gets tired of fighting she always screams and plays the damsel in distress card. Trust me on this. Her wings probably aren't even sore."

"Good," I say as I step away from Baran and Selinda. "It's like I said, I really didn't want to be the reason that-"

My sentence is cut short by the entrance of the Headmistress. Judging from how fast everyone shuts up, I'd say we're in trouble- and lots of it.

"What happened here?" she snaps. "Your teacher turns his back on you for five seconds, and suddenly you think it's okay to start World War III? Well I have news for you! It isn't!"

There's an awkward silence before she yells, "Classes are cancelled for the rest of the day. And until you can learn to behave like civilized individuals, they will stay cancelled! And then none of you will ever graduate! Everyone back to your rooms. Now!"

One chorus of frightened yes ma'am's later, we all hurriedly shuffle out of the room, grabbing whatever stuff we took with us on the way out. My head starts hurting again, but I ignore it. I also ignore Angela's smug smile. I'm not sure who won that fight, but the one thing I do know for sure is that this is most definitely _not_ the way I planned to spend my first day as a Level C.

… **..**

 **Hi again! Just so you know, the goal is to get the next chapter up by May 8, 2016. If you're reading this and there isn't another chapter up yet and it's May 9** **th** **or later, go bother me until I get off my butt and update. Got it? Good.**

 **Anyways, thank you CursedRedRose for following and favoriting, misfitmasterpiece for following, and Otto-Antiporda for following and favoriting.**

 **Reviews!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Yeah, I can definitely relate to that. This is actually the last chapter I have pre-written, so I'll have to actually write the next one before the next time I update. Here's to hoping I don't get writer's block :/**

 **CursedRedRose: Aw, thanks! Writing younger versions of characters is actually a lot easier than I thought it would be when I first started doing backstory fics.**

 **Quote of the day!**

" _The Smiths lived in Nebraska- on purpose. They also had two kids- not on purpose."_ –Studio C (The Smiths)

 **Titans go!**

 **Spectrobes Princess**


	11. The Plan

5/21/16

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or anything else I may mention._

….

Cursed

Chapter 11: The Plan

….

I sit at mine and Jade's desk, staring at an empty page of my sketchbook. My completed pile of homework sits next to it, while Roy and Jade lay in the floor working on theirs. It would be peaceful, if not for the Headmistress's words looming over my head. Oddly, it's nothing that she said today- it was something she said yesterday. I can't remember her exact words, but the meaning is clear. Try anything again, and we'll get expelled.

Did my little fight with Angela today count as "anything"? I don't think so. I think the Headmistress would've come in here by now if it did. But at the same time, we have to do something or else we won't get to meet Madame Rouge. While I don't know if my friends' words are true about what will happen if we don't, it shouldn't and doesn't matter. They're my friends- the first ones I made in my strange new life at that. I want to do nice things for them and make them happy. And clearly seeing Madame Rouge is going to accomplish that.

I spare a glance at them and wonder what exactly it will take to meet Madame Rouge. The Headmistress has made it very clear that we're not going with her. But there has to be something- there always is. It's just a matter of figuring out what it is. The cane comes to mind. Technically, we weren't supposed to get that either. But she was so happy when we did. Maybe if we're creative enough about it, she'll let us go. And how were we creative about getting the cane again?

Oh wait, that's right. We snuck out.

Gears start turning in my head, and before I know it, I'm scribbling notes in the back of my sketchbook. Well, it's less of notes and more of a to-do list. When everything we need to do before we make our final plan is written down, I look it over for mistakes before triumphantly tossing it between Jade and Roy.

"What's this?" Roy asks.

I smirk. "It's how we're seeing Madame Rouge, that's what."

Jade picks it up and reads it. Her green eyes widen comedically as she realizes what exactly is written on the paper. She hands it to Roy and looks up at me.

"We're sneaking out again?"

"Precisely," I smirk. "If Headmistress won't let us go with her, we'll just go there by ourselves."

Roy glances at my sketchbook. "Won't you get in trouble?"

I shrug. "If we do, it'll be worth it. Right?"

"I guess so," Roy says. He looks between me and Jade before returning to his homework. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he looks guilty about something. Jade too, if the way she's biting her lip is any indication.

"Oh come on guys, what happened to that HIVE training villains rumor? If they really are- which I doubt- won't they want us to break the rules?"

"Not their rules," Jade says quietly. "Just the law."

I scoff. "Don't be a wimp Jade. This plan's going to work."

"How do you know?" Roy asks.

I smirk. "Let's just say we'll have a little help."

...

"Selinda?" I ask, trailing after the older girl.

She stops in her tracks and turns around. She seems a little surprised to see me here, as if she expected me to be sulking in my room.

"Oh, hey Mal. Are you feeling okay? I know Angela can really pack a punch."

I brush off her concern. "Nah, I'm fine. I can barely feel a thing."

Lie. Total lie. I'm sore and aching on every part of my body, and there's nothing I want to do more than run to Central-Keystone City crying for Mommy. I'm a girl on a mission though, so I'm going to stick to it.

"That's good. You know she's sent kids to the infirmary before, right? I'm glad you're safe."

I nod my head. "Thanks. Um... Lin? I've gotta ask you something."

"Ask away," Selinda grins.

I twirl my pink hair nervously, remembering a time it was pitch black. "Do you think you or your brother will get picked to go see Madame Rouge?"

Selinda shrugs. "I hope. I mean, she sure is terrifying, but... I don't know. There's just something about her that strikes fear in your heart but leaves you in awe at the same time. She's just... amazing, you know? Even if I don't get picked though, I'm sure Baran will. He's at the top of his class."

I nod my head again. "If one of you get picked, can you fill me in?"

"Of course," Selinda says.

"On everything! Planning, schedule, when you're leaving, what you're taking, how long you'll be gone, everything! Please?"

Selinda laughs. "You're really not fooling anyone Mallory. Yes kiddo, I'll help you sneak out."

I smile before adding, "Jade and Roy, too."

"I figured as much. Just don't tell the Headmistress. Got it?"

"Got it."

….

 **Hi again! School's out for me now, so I'll probably have more time to write. Unless I spend the entire summer worrying my life away, that is. My mom bought lilies for the porch, and we just got two new cats. For those of you who don't know, most types of lilies are incredibly poisonous to cats, especially the pollen. And my mom refuses to get rid of the lilies, or even let me cut off the parts that make pollen (I'm** _ **pretty sure**_ **it won't even hurt the flowers!). Heck, she won't even let me move them to a spot where Mocha and Marie are less likely to chew on it. So basically I want to commit plan homicide to get rid of the stupid thing now.**

 **Thank you CursedRedRose for the review (Honestly I wanted her to beat up Angel too- but don't worry, her revenge will come eventually), and SupernaturalGodzilla for following and favoriting.**

 **Quote of the day!**

" _The FedEx truck passed our house! Now someone else will get our package! I mean, we didn't order anything, but they still didn't give it to us!"_ –the 7 year old girl I babysit

 **Titans go!**

 **Spectrobes Princess**


	12. Wrong

7/15/16

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or anything else I may mention._

…

 **Cursed**

 **Chapter Twelve: Wrong**

… **.**

And so the days go by. Despite the headmistress's earlier threat, classes start again the day after my fight with Angela. We continue to do our best in hopes of impressing Headmistress, but still rely on Selinda and Baran to slip us information. We've completely given up all hope of being chosen, but that doesn't mean sucking up won't be useful. In fact, it might just save us from getting a harsher punishment once she realizes what we're up to.

I've already finished all my assignments today, which leaves me with two options. Option 1: wait around like a bored fool until Jade gets done with her assignments so we can play, or Option 2: wait around like a bored fool until Selinda gets done with her assignments so she can go over what she's learned about the field trip. It's only three days until her and Baran leave, so we need to know as much as possible so we can sneak out.

Roy, ever courteous enough to provide me with a third option, walks into the room and sits next to me on my bed. I yawn and finish fixing the bow on Zippy's ear.

"Tired?" Roy asks.

"Yeah," I sigh. "Selinda's planning and stuff has kept me up pretty late. I'll be fine though."

Roy frowns. "Are you sure? Because I can always take over that part if you really need me to."

"Nah, I'll be fine. I'm a big girl, I can manage."

"Okay," Roy says. "But if you change your mind just let me know."

I nod my head.

"What, am I not filling you in enough or something?" I tease.

Roy laughs and shakes his head as Jade triumphantly holds her folder in the air.

"Done!" she announces.

"Great!" I say with a grin.

Roy smirks mischievously. "Hey, since Selinda isn't here yet, who wants to go in the cafeteria? All the tables are cleared, it'll be a great place to play tag or something."

Jade's eyes light up. "Count me in!"

"If Lin will know where to find us, I don't see the problem," I say, hiding my excitement like a lady. Headmistress always scolds those who show too much emotion- something my friends often forget. "Count me in too."

Unfortunately, someone knocks at the door. I open it knowing exactly who it will be, but at the same time I'm still pathetically surprised to see Selinda standing in front of me.

"Hey Mal," she says with a lopsided grin. "You ready?"

I look back at Roy, feeling oh-so pathetic. He frowns before quickly forcing himself to smile again.

"You can catch up with me and Jade later. Go with Selinda right now."

"You sure?" I ask.

Roy nods his head. "Yeah. Just hurry up, okay? We're not afraid to start without you."

"Got it," I say, although my feelings of guilt have yet to go away. What started out as a favor for my friends as well as an adventure we could take together has very quickly became an excuse to ignore them. And it feels horrible.

Selinda and I cross the hall into one of the empty rooms. She shuts the door behind us as I sit down on one of the beds, setting Zippy down on my lap. Guilt continues to eat away at me as I listen to her instructions.

"Okay, so apparently instead of leaving on the 3rd instead of the 4th."

"Why?" I ask. While we're mostly prepared, I still feel a little nervous at the thought of having to leave a day earlier than originally intended.

"She's trying to keep people from sneaking out," Selinda says, laughing at the irony of the situation. "The good news is that she says if anyone does manage to sneak out and join us, they won't get in too much trouble since they were smart enough to get past her trick. I think she's on to us though. She was lookin' right at me when she said it."

I try to wrap my mind around the fact that I was just told that it's basically okay to break the rules. It doesn't come easily, even with Roy's rumors.

"But wait, we'll still get a little in trouble?"

"I guess so," Selinda says. "That's really all I have to say. She basically just repeated stuff she already told us for the rest of the time. Sorry I kept you from your friends. I guess I could've just told you out in the hallways."

I shake my head. "No, it's fine. I didn't miss much." Probably. "So the plans still the same? Just bump it up a day?"

"Yeah. Hey, I'll meet with you again tomorrow. Go play."

"Okay, thanks!" I grin, tucking Zippy back under my arm. I give her a quick hug, but wiggle away before she can react. I run out the door, before going back in my room for Clover. It takes me a minute to find her, though, and by now I'm sure my friends are already having fun without me. And then, because this would only happen to me, I manage to get lost in the school that I've been going to for nearly six months. Lucky me.

Eventually, I make it to the cafeteria. I don't think we're supposed to be in here, but then again nobody ever told us we couldn't. Besides, it won't be the worst thing I've done all week. I go in half expecting to see Jade and Roy running around like speedsters. However, it soon becomes clear that the tables were not, well, cleared. Instead of playing, the two are merely sitting next to each other on top of one of the tables. It's worth noting the rather large distance between the two of them. Paired with the awkward looks on their faces make it clear that something is wrong.

"What happened?" I ask.

"Well, tables aren't up, so we can't play tag."

I roll my eyes at the obviousness. "No, I mean... other than that."

"Oh," Jade says. "Well, I kissed Roy, and then Roy kissed me, so now we're sitting down and thinking through our life choices."

If I had a drink, I would've took a spit-take.

"You what?"

"What, you're mad we're thinking this through?" Jade scoffs.

"Yeah, I mean, we kind of have to. On all of the chick flicks Ollie lets me watch with him when Dinah isn't looking, people are always worried that they'll mess up their friendships. Jade's one of my best friends- I don't want to ruin that."

"Yeah," Jade says, before adding, "and Roy's turning 8 next month, and then he'll be way too old for me."

I frown. "Aren't you turning 6 the month after that?"

Jade nods her head. "Yeah, but still."

I sigh, rolling my eyes yet again. "Okay, whatever. Just deal with your drama later, because I want no part of this. Do you want to know what Selinda said or not?"

Jade scoots closer to Roy. "Was it something important?"

"If you consider leaving a day earlier important, then yeah."

Jade bites her lip, as if this news worries her. Roy, on the other hand, breathes out a sigh of relief.

"Good. That... actually works better," Roy says.

Jades sighs, running a hand through her long black hair. "Not for me. How am I gonna tell Lian?"

"Your friend?" I ask. Jade nods. "Why would you need to tell her?"

A guilty look flashes across Jade's face. I would know, really. One of our teachers is teaching us how to read emotions. And if I'm not mistaken, Roy looks guilty as well.

"No reason," Jade says. "I just... miss telling her everything. That's all."

I nod. "Understandable. So, do you guys want to go play in one of our rooms?"

"Yeah," Roy says, pushing himself off the table. "Let's go to your room. That way Baran won't bother us."

Jade copies him and stands between us. "Sounds good to me."

As we walk to my room, I can't help but notice how silent Roy and Jade are. And I can't help but feel as though something is very, very wrong. This feeling is cemented when Roy stops walking, and I hear his response when I ask what's wrong.

"It's nothing. Just thinking about how much I'll miss you guys. I mean, would miss you guys. You know, if I ever left."

It doesn't take rocket science to know that he's lying, and something is very wrong indeed.

… **..**

 **To make up for my terrible habit of not updating, I decided to throw in a little ship tease. Sure, it wasn't for Flinx like a lot of you were probably hoping, but guess what? One's coming very soon. I think you guys will like it. ;)**

 **Follows- twinkletoestbh, RoXaS707, Cat8457**

 **Favorites- RoXaS707, Cat8457,**

 **Reviews-**

 **Mirror to the Future: Thanks!**

 **SupernaturalGodzilla: Thanks!**

 **CursedRedRose: Oh trust me, it's coming and it's going to be huge. You'll have to wait and see ;)**

 **Guest: I used to have a schedule, but I don't anymore. I'm working on it though, and I'll be sure to give everyone a heads up when I get one made. What I'm currently trying to do is update at least three times a month, but unfortunately it really ends up being more of a once a month thing. I'm hoping to change that soon though.**

 **Cat8497- Yeah, I have a basic outline made. There's plenty of wiggle room for subplots though, so if anyone has an idea they'd like to see I'll try to make it work. Unfortunately, Jade will soon disappear for about… I'm not even going to say how long because you'll be disappointed… but she'll come back as a main character within the last 20 chapters and continue to be her awesome self. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.**

 **If I Could Begin to Be- That's so cool! I go to church with a Mallory, and she's really funny and sweet. Since Jinx doesn't have a real name, I got to make stuff up, and since there's a theory that in the cartoon Jinx was supposed to be a composite character of Jinx and Linda Park (Kid Flash's love interest from the comics) I decided to go with that. Even though Linda's middle name is canonly Jasmine, I decided to change it for reasons beyond just Mallory meaning bad luck (well… admittedly it might have just started out like that, but I came up with something really cool as a reasoning behind it- you'll have to wait and see what it is, though).**

 **Quote of the day!**

" _The absence of pee in my truck is the most important part of this conversation!"_ –my dad when I asked him if he found the mouse that peed in his truck, or if it had peed in there again.

 **The fun part about this is that he said that** _ **months**_ **ago, but I found it on my quotes list so whatever. I really need to start writing stuff down for it again- I'm starting to run out.**

 **Titans Go!**

 **~Spectrobes Princess**


	13. Promises Made to Break

7/28/16

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or anything else I may mention._

…

Cursed

Chapter Thirteen: Promises Made to Break

…..

I toss and turn in my bed, waiting anxiously for the beep of the alarm. There are only three hours left until we need to get ready to sneak out again, and until then we need to get as much sleep as we can. Only I can't. I'm too excited to even keep my eyes closed for a second. All I can think about is meeting Madame Rouge. Even though I know next to nothing about her, everyone else seems to think she's great. And if so many people think that, it must be true. Sure, she's a criminal, but who says the bad guys can't be cool too?

I flip my pillow over to the cold side and pull my blanket closer to me. Clover lays tucked under my arm, while Zippy sits pressed against my back keeping look out for nightmares. They both used to sleep in my arms while some of my other stuffed animals kept guard, but since I only have them here they have to take turns. Mommy was the one who started that. When me and Felicity first started living with her and Daddy I used to get nightmares every night. After I started sleeping like this, I think I stopped getting them as much. I miss her, but I know that if she saw me like this she wouldn't feel the same way. After all, Headmistress is the one who told me that, and she knows everything.

Jade makes a noise that sounds something like a cross between a whimper and a squeak. I sit up and turn around to face her.

"J? Are you awake?"

"No," she whimpers.

I set Clover down next to Zippy and turn on a lamp, and then I sit on the edge of Jade's bed. "Is everything okay?" I ask.

I can see her more clearly now that I'm closer, and it's pretty clear that everything's not okay. Her eyes are red from tears, giving the green in them a sort of pop, and tears have run off her face and onto her pillow, creating a puddle of wetness on the pillowcase.

Jade props herself up on her elbow and nods her head. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

"You don't look fine," I say with a frown.

More tears fall from Jade's eyes as I say this, confirming her previous statement as a lie.

"Hey, it's okay. You can tell me."

Before I know it, Jade has completely lost control of herself. Her shaky attempt at composing herself is gone, and I'm not quite sure how to get her to stop crying. I pull her into a hug, but it doesn't do much good.

For a few minutes, I just let her cry. Her crying soon starts to fade. I push some strands of long black hair out of her eyes and ask, "Now can you tell me what's wrong?"

After the words come, I almost regret saying them. I sounded pretty annoyed. Luckily, she doesn't act like she notices.

"I'm scared," she manages to say.

"Scared?" I ask. "Scared of what?"

"I don't want to go back," she sniffles. "I don't want to go back!"

Go back? Where?

"Um... hey. It'll be okay," I say weekly.

"No it won't! What if I mess up?"

I sigh. "Look, I don't know what you're talking about, but you'll be fine. There's nothing to be scared of."

"How do you know?" she whimpers softly. "You've never been to The Shadows."

"Been whe- okay, you know what? It doesn't matter. Because whatever it is you're talking about, you don't have to worry about it anymore. You know why?"

"Why?" she asks, tears glistening in her eyes.

"Because whatever it is you're worried about will have to go through me and Roy to hurt you. Got it?"

This sends Jade into further hysterics. "But... you're staying here!"

"Jade. We're all going on the field trip."

"Not, that's not... not what I mean!"

I sigh in annoyance, pulling her closer to me. "Just don't worry about it, okay? No matter what it is, I'll keep you safe."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

I can tell she doesn't completely believe me, yet she still buries her head into my shoulder and mumbles, "Okay."

I can't help but wonder what Jade was worried about, but soon I'm sleeping too soundly to care.

… **..**

 **So this chapter is pathetically short, but at least it didn't take me a month to update this time, right? I'm making progress!**

 **(even though looking at my old updating schedule tells me that this chapter was originally intended to be written in March…)**

 **In other news, does anyone have any tips for making AMV's? I'm going over to a friend's house on Saturday and we're going to try to work on one. Neither of us have made one before, so I think we probably need some advice. Although come to think of it you may not want to enable us since our idea is intended to rip out the hearts of the viewers (and involves Spitfire for that matter- Flinx is still #1 though)**

 **Follows: Brooke Vengence, gracieTpie**

 **Favorites: cowsgomoo950, Brooke Vengence, gracieTpie, lelouchxcc6968**

 **Reviews:**

 **CursedRedRose- Thanks! Yeah, I'd imagine the HIVE would want to start it's brainwashing pretty early. It's easier to convince a child of something than it is a teenager. They'll be sneaking out next chapter- no more filler chapters! I'm actually pretty excited to write it, especially since I've filled in all the little plot holes (such as what the Headmistress was planning to give Madame Rouge- I seriously didn't know what it was until a couple weeks ago).**

 **gracieTpie- I know, right! I keep going back and forth as to whether or not it's my Teen Titans OTP. Thanks!**

 **Quote of the day!**

" _We're all liars. And you know where liars go? That's right: Congress!"_ -My camp pastor

 **I'm pretty sure I put a quote from him last time too, but I have no regrets. In fact, my only regret is not taking a screenshot of the Persian that appeared on my ceiling today whilst playing Pokémon Go.**

 **Predictably, I named her "Ceiling".**

 **Titans Go!**

 **Spectrobes Princess**

 **(p.s- expect some cameos in the next couple of chapters)**

 **(some very…** _ **fast**_ **… cameos)**


	14. Sneaking Out

1/7/17

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or anything else I may mention._

… **..**

 **Cursed**

 **Chapter Fourteen: Sneaking Out**

… **.**

I wake up a few minutes before my alarm is supposed to go off, which is odd because I don't even remember going to sleep. Yet here I am, lying on my side in Jade's bed, her head lying against my back. I get up carefully so I don't wake her up, and tiptoe into the closet.

Since it's dark in there, I have to feel my way around for a moment to find a clean uniform. Once I do, I take off the dirty one and put the new one on. The alarm starts going off at around this time, and it's only then that it really sinks in.

We're _actually_ doing this.

I take a moment to collect my thoughts so Jade doesn't see how worried I am. Otherwise her and Roy wouldn't trust me to lead, if I can't even lead my own emotions. Leading a team is like a second nature to me; I don't want to give it up so soon. When I'm sure I'm ready, I go back into the room.

I'm met by an obviously worried Jade. She doesn't bother to hide it, instead tackling me and giving me one of the tightest hugs I've ever received.

""I thought you left me!" she whimpers, nuzzling my shoulder.

"Calm down," I groan. "Your powers are the only reason we can even attempt sneaking out."

Jade lets go and looks up at me sheepishly. "Sorry. I'm just really happy to see you."

I roll my eyes and begin to fix my hair as Jade gets dressed. "Remember your pants this time, okay?"

"That was one time!"

I chuckle at the memory as I finish tying up my hair into pigtails. I then turn to my backpack and double check to make sure everything I need is in there. Since Jade is still hiding in the closet getting dressed, I go ahead and check hers too. But when I unzip her backpack, I don't just see what we'll need on the trip. I see _everything_.

"Um… Jade? I don't think you need all of this."

"All of what?" Jade asks, walking out of the closet. Her eyes widen when she sees me holding the bag, and she immediately tries to snatch it from my grasp. "Give it back!"

I oblige, tossing her the backpack.

"Thank you," she says politely, before shoving her Cheshire Cat in the bag as well.

"Do you really need to take Cheshire with you?" I groan. "The big kids are going to laugh."

Jade doesn't seem to care. "Well, I'm not leaving him behind too."

"Which would make perfect sense if you actually left something behind to begin with. You know, I'm pretty sure I saw the kitchen sink in there!"

Jade ignores me and zips up the backpack. I'm pretty sure those are tears in her eyes, and I feel guilty because my teasing is surely the reason they're there. Maybe I have been too standoffish lately. I can't help it though- I'm under a lot of stress! I just wish things could be different. I can't wait for things to go back to normal, if such a thing even exists anymore. Then, me and Jade can play together like we used to, without having to worry about our plans to sneak out. We'll spend so much time together that it will be like this never happened.

We put on our backpacks and wordlessly link our hands together. Jade takes a deep, shaky breath and makes us turn invisible. We turn out the lights and leave the room. Quietly, we tip-toe down the halls until we reach Roy's room. Jade knocks on the door, and we take a few steps back. And then, we wait.

Finally, Baran peeks his head out the door. He pretends to look around for a moment, eventually opening the door completely and sighing in fake defeat. "Huh. Guess I was just hearing things."

We take that as our signal to run into the room, where Roy is sitting on his bed clutching his backpack. Jade deactivates her powers as Baran closes the door.

"Ready?" I ask.

"Ready," Roy grins.

The three of us sit down on Roy's bed while Baran sits on a chair in front of us, repeating the instructions for the next part of the plan. When he's certain that we know them by heart, we sit around talking and waiting we didn't have so much time to kill. I can't help but notice the look of guilt on Roy's face, or the one of Jade's either for the matter. I try my best to stay composed so Baran doesn't think I'm a scardy-cat or goody-two-shoes like my friends are, but I don't think it's working. I feel sick, and my hands tremble as tiny pink sparks sizzle around my palms. That feeling of dread returns, hitting me like a bullet.

Part of me doesn't want to do this anymore.

Part of me doesn't care.

Baran stands up, jolting me from my thoughts. A hex unwillingly shoots from my wrist, hitting the closet. No one notices.

"It's time."

Without another word, the three of us stand up and link our hands together. Jade's hands tremble as she activates her powers to shield us. Baran nods, opening the door.

"Bye Roy," he yells, holding the door open for an unreasonable amount of time. We use this as our opportunity to slip out.

Once Baran decides we've had enough time, he closes the door and starts walking towards Selinda's room. We follow him hand in hand, and I completely block all thoughts from my mind. Finally, after all these weeks of planning, it's time to put our plan into action.

It doesn't take us long to reach Selinda's room , which is really helped by the fact that no one ran into us. Baran knocks on the door, and Selinda answers it. As according to the plan, she leaves the door open for an extra amount of time so we can get in. After we do, Jade immediately turns off her powers and collapses on the spare bed.

"That. Was. Exhausting." Jade fans her head dramatically. "Did you guys see that? I must've had my powers on for like, forever!"

"You did very well Jade," Selinda says, stuffing her backpack with books.

"Well, how would _you_ know?" Jade asks as she hangs upside down on the foot of the bed. "You weren't even there!"

Selinda laughs. "Okay then, you caught me oh wise grammar-nazi. I'm _sure_ you did very well. Now c'mon, let's go!"

"Shouldn't we wait for Jade?"

Selinda stops tugging on her brother's arm and looks back at Jade. The five year old pushes herself off the bed and links her arms with mine and Roy's. I give her an inquisitive look, but she just looks up at me and grins.

"What? I'm fine, really."

"Okay then," I say hesitantly. "I guess we're ready if you guys are."

The next part of our plan takes longer, since Selinda's room and the place we're going are on different sides of the school. As we walk I can feel Jade's hand tremble in my own, and I can't help feeling nervous myself. I wish I could see Roy right now, to guess what he's feeling, but Jade's powers make it impossible to see either of my friends. So I push the thought to the side and focus on the faint outlines of Selinda and Baran as we move through darkened corridor after darkened corridor. My heart skips beats every time we pass an unfamiliar shadow, and there are moments when I'm certain it's another student and we're about to be caught. But every time it turns out to only be a fluke, and I'm reminded that even if it weren't for Jade's powers it would be too dark for anyone to truly know what they're seeing.

I feel relieved when we make it to the cafeteria, where there's light. Selinda walks in first and looks around, and then comes back and gives us a thumbs us. We don't know if there are security cameras or if anyone else had the idea to come early, so Jade keeps her powers on. Baran leads us to the kitchen, where the door we snuck out of the first time is already cracked open. Jade drops our shield as we walk out of the academy and into the cold winter air. Sitting in the parking lot is a great big truck with a lot of the paint scratched off the sides. The door in the back is opened, but I can't see anything inside of it. Probably because the sun isn't quite up yet.

"Alright, get inside. When you hear the other kids, make sure to turn on your powers. Okay Jade?"

Roy seems surprised. "Wait, inside? You mean we're taking that truck there?"

Roy's right- it seems pretty small. Unless we're riding in the back, that is. But what if we wreck? There can't possibly be seat belts back there.

"Is it big enough for all of us up there?" I ask.

Baran laughs. "We're not riding in the front, kid."

Jade's eyes light up, and she jumps up and punches the air. "Oh yes! I've _always_ wanted to ride in the trunk!"

"Are you sure it's safe?" Roy asks.

Selinda seems hesitant. "Well, the Headmistress has gotta know what she's doing, right? It's not like she'd have us do something really dangerous, you know?"

I look at the back of the truck, and my stomach churns at the thought of it ending up turned over in a ditch on the side of the road. While I've done a lot of dangerous things in the past few months, there's just something about this that doesn't seem right. I feel like I should grab Jade and Roy and run back to my room where we can forget that we even had this idea. But in a weird way, I know that I can't. Not after we've gone this far. To give up now would be unthinkable.

I make up my mind: it's time to climb in.

Well, here goes nothing.

I walk closer to it, before breaking out into a run. When I get close enough, I jump up and push myself up onto the floor. I crawl in a little farther before turning around and peeking my head out.

"Well? Come on!"

Jade doesn't hesitate to follow me, and after a moment of thought Roy joins her. Jade isn't tall enough to reach, so we have to pull her up. Other than that, things go pretty well. Jade leans out and yells a "See you later!" to the siblings as they walk away. For now, we're alone. But that doesn't bother me like it should. Most of my worries have faded away, so all there's left to do is wait for the real problems to begin.

"Hey guys? Look at this box I found!" Roy yells from the back of the truck.

Jade and I get up from where we're sitting on the edge, and follow Roy to the back. Sure enough, there's a silver box stuck to the floor. It looks like it can be opened, but a lock on the front of it stops us from doing so. Overall, it reminds me of a treasure chest. I wonder what's inside, if it's contents are important enough to need a lock.

"Well? What are we waiting for? Let's pick the lock!" Jade says with a grin.

"I don't know if we can. It's the kind with a code," I explain. I don't know for sure that we can't pick it, but it's never the kind people on movies pick. That kind always needs a key, and I'm pretty sure you can't pick a lock unless it needs a key.

"Then why don't we try to guess the code?" Jade asks mischievously.

Roy smirks. "Guys? You know that might not be necessary."

"Why not?" I ask.

"Because there's already a code entered."

Another look at the box reveals that yes, there is in fact a code entered. If it's the right code or not we can't be sure, but it's worth a try. I lean forward and press the button next to the keypad, and with a click the box pops open slightly. On the count of three, we all carefully lift the lid.

Inside is a blue binder that looks like it has seen better days. The cover is dusty, stained, and torn up. Roy seems a little annoyed when Jade is the one to lift it out of the box. Opening the front of it reveals a thick set of well-preserved pages that seem to be in much better condition than the binder that protects them. The first page seems to be a title page.

 _Quantum Generators, Black Holes, and the Multiverse Theory_

 _Research gathered by Professor Martin Stein and Charles "Charlie" Snow_

"Martin Stein… I think I've heard that name," I say, thinking out loud.

"Yeah, it sounds familiar," Roy agrees.

Jade glances at the cover again. "Hey guys? What if this is what the Headmistress is giving Madame Rouge?"

"But why would she want something like this?"

Roy shakes his head. "Who knows?"

I take it from Jade's hands and flip through the pages. "Maybe we should put it back. It looks important, and we wouldn't want to rip any pages."

"Good idea," Roy says, taking the binder from me. He sighs, wiping some of the dust off the cover before putting it back.

I don't miss the way he hesitates before closing the lid.

…

 **Hi again! There's… really no excuse for going so long without updating. When I first started writing fanfic, I vowed that I wouldn't be one of those people who constantly left their readers in suspense, but here I am. But it's a new year, right? 2017 already feels different than 2016 did! And it's a good different! And while I'm not going to promise that I can update every three days or once a week like I used to since I know I won't be able to keep up with that, I** _ **am**_ **going to promise that I'm at least going to** _ **try**_ **to do better.**

 **Anyways, thank you Quaarus, Silver-Infinite, bdjc, nikki Diaz, and juliette01 for favoriting, and Silver-Infinite, Liely, nikki Diaz, and juliette01 for following. Sorry if I missed anyone :)**

 **Reviews:**

 **CursedRedRose- Thanks :D**

 **Juliette01- Thanks, and you're about to find out ;)**

 **So yeah, I think that just about sums things up. Next chapter is when crap hits the fan. I've noticed that when I give specific dates I'm going to update by I always end up going way over, so let's just say I'll update soon and leave it at that. I hope you guys had a great Halloween, an amazing Thanksgiving, a merry Christmas, and a happy New Year :)**

 **Quote of the day:**

" _Hey, what do you say we both be independent together!"_ –Hermey the elf, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

 **Titans go!**

 **Spectrobes Princess**

 **(p.s. Has anyone else watched Justice League Action yet? It kind of reminds me of Teen Titans, in a way.)**


	15. Madame Rouge

3/11/17

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or anything else I may reference_

… **..**

 **Cursed**

 **Chapter Fifteen: Madame Rouge**

… **..**

 _March 3, 2005_

As children begin to file into the truck, Jade slowly starts to turn off her powers. No one seems to notice us, as everyone has already found their friends. Selinda and Baran sit on the floor close to us, talking to each other in hushed whispers. Roy fixes his hair with the reflection of the truck wall, while Jade snacks on some Lifesavers she found in her backpack and occasionally passes one to one of us. Suddenly, the truck door closes and leaves us all in the dark.

Jade sticks the candy in her pocket and whispers, "Are we leaving now?"

A quick jolt tells us that we're moving, answering Jade's question. I hold on to someone's arm as we take a sharp turn, letting go when I feel that it's safe. My eyelids start feeling heavy, and the darkness reminds me just how tired I am. Well, it can't hurt to take a _little_ nap, can it?

I lean my head against the wall and try not to think about my family. It's been so long since I've seen them, and I really miss them. I miss playing dress up with Felicity, and bothering my foster parents about letting Holly and Dawn spend the night. I miss Dad teaching me how to draw, and Mom telling me stories about things that happened at work. I miss the way the four of us would sit on the couch together and watch the news so I could find stories about The Flash. I remember when Mom and Dad told us they were going to adopt us, and they told us we had to move to Central City to do it. I was so excited back then. I convinced myself that Captain Cold or Trickster was going to hold me hostage someday, and that The Flash would come save me just in time. It was all I could think about for weeks. I wish I could go back to those days.

A single tear drops from my eyes as they flutter shut.

...

"Mal? C'mon, wake up!"

Huh... what?

"Mallory?"

I open my eyes, but I can't see anything. It takes a moment before they adjust to the dark.

"I don't think we're moving anymore," I yawn, sitting up very slowly.

"Yeah, that's why me 'n Roy woke you up."

"I think we're probably there. Unless we're just gassing up or something."

Something feels off. It's like I was thinking about something important, but I can't remember what it is.

The door opens, blinding us with light. The Headmistress stands outside, motioning for us to follow her. The feeling doesn't go away, but it changes. Suddenly, it's like someone's watching me. I try to ignore it as I follow the other kids out, but it consumes my thoughts and refuses to leave. In my absentmindedness, I stumble forward and trip into a Level H.

"Watch where you're going you pink-haired freak!" she snaps.

"Sorry Sarah," I say weakly. She glares at me and continues walking.

Selinda puts a hand on my shoulder. "Knock it off Viera."

Sarah turns around long enough to roll her eyes. "Look Flinders, did I ask your opinion. No? Well then, looks like I'll be on my way."

I sigh and look up and Selinda. "Is my hair really that pink?"

She hesitates.

"Well... it's getting there..."

Great, just what I needed.

I jump off the edge of the truck and join Jade and Roy in line. It shouldn't matter how much I look like a freak, but shouldn't doesn't mean doesn't. Something twists in my heart, but I shove it to the side and try to let excitement take over. All this does is add to the mess of conflicting feelings I'm already dealing with. One of the oldest students finally comes out of the truck carrying the binder, and passes it to the Headmistress. She thanks him, and goes to stand in front of us.

Headmistress looks right at us, but doesn't say anything. Honestly, she doesn't seem surprised. She must have understood our intentions from the beginning. Perhaps this was like a test to her. I wonder if I passed.

"Alright children. Follow me," she says, walking towards an old-looking building.

As I follow her, I take time to look at my surroundings. Over all, the abandoned look reminds me of the Academy. One large, concrete building sits in the middle of an empty lot. A barbed wire fence closes off the perimeter. The ground lacks grass, instead being covered by pale gray asphalt. A single bird stands on the ground, pecking at a crumb. He doesn't seem to notice us as we walk past.

"Baran?" Selinda whispers. "This place is kind of creepy."

Baran wraps an arm around her shoulder as they keep walking. "Don't worry Lin. Nothing's gonna happen to you."

A chill runs up my spine as we approach the building. As we get closer, a figure comes into view. The closer we get, the better I can see who it is. It's a woman, one who looks kind of young. Her hair is black and not long enough to touch her shoulders, and she wears a red jumpsuit. Lipstick a matching shade of red coats her lips. Those same lips are pulled into a confident smirk- this woman is better than us, and she knows it!

Excitement bubbles up in my chest. This must be the woman Jade and Roy wanted to meet so badly. Who else could it be? There's no one else here, and even if there was then surely no one else would be able to radiate such power!

Headmistress nods to her and stands beside her tensely. The woman's smirk gains something else to it. Malice, possibly? My bones feel cold as the woman's eyes scan over us, before finally nodding in approval. Headmistress seems relieved.

"Hello children," the woman says in a thick Russian accent. "Normally I would not have taken time out of my busy schedule for something like this, but for something like this I would gladly make an exception."

Headmistress nervously says, "Children, as I'm sure you're aware, this is Madame Rouge. She is one of the founding members of the Brotherhood of Evil, so make sure to be on your best behavior. We wouldn't want to make a bad impression, would we?"

I've never seen Headmistress look so nervous before. I wonder what could be bugging her.

"Yes children, you wouldn't. Especially if you want to join us when you grow up."

This catches my attention. Does this mean the HIVE really is a school for supervillains? It has to be. Nothing else would make sense, right?

Roy looks troubled. Jade looks scared. I feel neither of those things. If anything, I'm... interested?

"You see, the Brotherhood has some," Madame Rouge pauses, as though she has to think of how to word her next statement. "-future plans. Perhaps, we could use some new members."

Right as she says it, she looks me in the eyes. I feel my heart stop.

"However, without the important information your Headmistress has for us, we will not know. Hand it over, will you?" she asks, annoyance hiding in her accent.

Headmistress nods hurriedly. "Yes, of course. Sarah, the binder?"

Sarah, who must have been given the binder at some point after it was passed to the Headmistress, hands her the binder back. But before she can hand it over to Madame Rouge, something amazing happens.

In the blink of an eye a red blur runs past, taking the binder with him.

… **..**

 **I'm back! I intended to get this written sooner, but oh well. We're starting a new level of curriculum for school soon, and this lesson plan** _ **seems**_ **to have less essays (oh how I hate those things!), so fingers crossed? Anyways, buckle your seatbelts because this next chapter is going to be** _ **epic**_ **! At least, I think it's going to be. It's always cool when I think it out in my head, but honestly who knows how well it'll transfer to paper.**

 **Anyways, thank you KF fan for following, roseangel21 for following and favoriting, bunastheallmightyone for following, and ChrisReniets for favoriting.**

 **Reviews:**

 **Silver-Infinite: Oh yes, I love that show (though I will admit it has gone downhill lately- at least Firestorm is coming back next episode even if it is probably just so they can have Ronnie put in his seasonly dying quota). Given that the HIVE was involved in Caitlin's origin story in the comics, I figured it wouldn't hurt to weave Killer Frost and Jinx's backstories together a bit. Young Justice is pretty great too- I can't wait for season 3!**

 **MirIAmc: Thanks! I'm still trying to figure out if I'm better at writing first or third person, but for this story first person has worked really well!**

 **Bdjc: Thank you :)**

 **Quote of the day:**

" _As everyone knows, vomit is not an approved lubricant for engine systems."_ -Voltron

 **(I don't remember the name of the person who said it but oh well)**

 **God bless!**

 **~Spectrobes Princess**


	16. A League in The Shadows

7/8/17

… **..**

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or anything else I may mention._

… **..**

 **Cursed**

 **Chapter 16: A League in The Shadows**

… **..**

(March 3, 2005)

My eyes grow wide as I turn to look at the red blur. My heartbeat speeds up, feeling as though at any moment it will fall out of my chest. Standing mere yards away from me, binder in hand, is The Flash. It's the new one, the one who wears the red mask that covers his hair instead of the old man with the silver helmet, but it doesn't matter because he's _The_ Flash and he's here!

A smirk forms on his face as he holds up the binder triumphantly. "Look, as much as I hate to take things from people without asking them first, Firestorm's gonna need this research back. Could be dangerous in the wrong hands and all that."

His words remind me of where I know the names on the binder. Martin Stein was a famous scientist who was working on a nuclear power plant several years ago. However, something went wrong, and when the plant exploded he got superpowers instead of dying. His powers used to be a secret and he called himself Firestorm in order to protect his identity. He soon became one of the most well-known heroes in America, even joining the Justice Society! But one day one of his old students became a supervillain, and he accidentally killed her while trying to stop her. Her best friend, Louise Lincoln, recreated the accident that gave her powers on herself, and because she knew his identity she was able to get revenge.

The professor's wife had a great nephew, Charlie, who was one of the smartest child prodigies in the world. Charlie liked to help his uncle on experiments, and the two were very close. Because of this, Louise had the idea to kidnap Charlie and publicly execute him. Martin tried to save him, but he was too late. Louise disappeared before she could be arrested, but only after revealing Firestorm's identity to the world. Martin retired as a hero because of the grief of not only losing Charlie and his student, but also from losing his wife who divorced him soon after the incident. I don't remember any of this happening for myself, since I was so young when it happened. My foster parents told me the story after I saw a news report about Charlie's sister Caitlin, who was born the day he died. Apparently his intelligence is genetic, if how many grades she's skipped is any indication.

"Ah, Flash. I see you are still running errands for the big kids," Madame Rouge sneers.

The Flash gestures to the sky. "Well, I don't think it's just errands if I brought back-up. Now!"

Suddenly, a translucent shape appears above us in the sky, losing it's semi-invisibility and transforming into a plane. One que, the entire Justice League surrounds us, trapping us against the building. I should be terrified. I should be running to them, realizing that I'm the one at fault and begging for forgiveness and mercy. But instead, I feel a rush of energy coursing through my blood and giving me strength to fight.

"Speedy!" Black Canary yells (quietly, for her), worry in her eyes.

Immediately, Roy breaks away from us and runs to her. Before any of us have time to process what just happened, Hawkgirl lands in front of the Headmistress.

"Surrender Hive Queen, the kids are coming with us," she says, mace ready. I remember Angela saying she's from Thanagar like Hawkgirl is. I wonder how true that statement is.

Someone laughs, and it sounds like it's coming from on top of the warehouse. "You think you can take the extra soldiers AND the binder? That's cute."

Our attention snaps to the rooftop, where a blonde man dressed in a tacky, dark purple costume stands. A large group of people make an appearance from behind the building, aiming their weapons at us, causing Jade to start crying. I'm about to grab her hand, but she refuses it.

"They're not soldiers Sportsmaster. They're children," Wonder Woman says, glaring at him.

The brunette woman leading the group from behind the building rolls her eyes. "Well, if that's how you feel, you should be relieved that's not why we're here. The contents of the binder are far more intriguing to us, so by all means you can have the children. Oh, except for the one who's here with us. Where is she?"

My heart twists inside my chest as Jade breaks away from me and begins to push her way through the crowd.

"I'm right here Miss Al Ghul," Jade says.

I don't miss the way she trembles at the sight of the woman, or the way she averts her gaze. I can't help but wonder. Were Jade and Roy really my friends? Or was that just another thing they were faking? I blink back my tears as the Headmistress's eyes begin to glow. Roy readies a bow, while Jade hides behind an Asian woman dressed in green. I feel my own hands begin to tingle with sparks of purple energy.

"So we're doing this the hard way? Students, attack!"

Without even telling myself what to do, I find myself running headfirst into a battlefield. Standing in place and throwing punch after punch, I will myself to stop but find that I cannot. And soon, I don't want to. I feel a rush of energy as I shoot hexes at one of the men who was hiding behind building, dodging the bullets from the gun he shoots at me.

This feels… nice. Natural even. The pride that surges through me when I strike an enemy overwhelms me, and I begin to actively search for foes rather than stand in place and wait for them to come to me. I feel invincible, as if nothing can stop me!

Suddenly, I'm pushed to the ground by a gigantic, muscular man. He laughs, pulling out a sword and stepping on my stomach with one foot. I freeze up in fear, completely unable to move. I feel myself start to hyperventilate, and I feel like throwing up. Is this the end?

All of a sudden, a small blur of yellow zips past, taking the man with it. In the blink of an eye it returns. Where the blur used to be is a red-haired boy around my age, wearing a yellow Flash costume.

"Are you okay?" he asks, holding out his hand to me.

My heart flutters as I reach out to take it, before I see the man from before running up to us. I waste no time and jump up from the ground myself. I run towards him, repeatedly hitting him with hexes. The boy joins me, though his only power seems to be superspeed and that complicates things a bit. Still, that's never stopped the real Flash before, so the kid Flash manages to land a few hits as well. We spend the next few minutes chasing him around before I lose track of them and manage to find other foes.

"League, forget the binder! Just save the kids!" Superman yells.

I barely have time to wonder what he means before a thick cloud of smoke fills the air. The smoke fills my lungs, and I begin to feel drowsy. I fall to the ground and begin to cough. Finally, my eyelids droop shut.

The last thing I remember seeing clearly is Jade being carried away by the man who tried to kill me.

…

I lie on my bed, hugging Zippy and Clover to my chest. I sob quietly as my eyes wander the empty room, void of any signs Jade had ever lived there. I'm alone now, and I probably always will be.

The Headmistress came in earlier. She talked for a while, voicing her disappointment in me. She told me there wouldn't be a punishment this time, but I know it's a lie. My true punishment isn't something that can be given by her. It's separation from my friends.

I hear a knock at the door, but I ignore it.

"Mallory?"

I turn over on my side, back to the door.

"It's me, Baran. Selinda went with the Justice League too. Do- do you want to talk about it?"

My heart breaks even more, if that's even possible. I cry harder, feeling as though I'll choke. Even that would be less painful.

"I understand. I'll just- I'll go now."

I hear footsteps as Baran walks away from the door, but calling for him would feel pathetic. I lift my head and stare at the empty space above Jade's bed where the Alice in Wonderland picture I drew for her used to hang. I wipe the tears from my eyes as I slowly start to realize something. No matter how much you love someone, they will fail you.

The only person you can trust is yourself.

… **..**

 **I'm sorry. Not just for not updating, but also for the Jade and Roy thing. This isn't their last appearances in the story though, I promise they'll be back. The cameo of little Wally should be enough of a peace offering until then.**

 **For Firestorm fans who read my retelling of his backstory and have Concerns (TM), don't worry. The classic "Ronnie with Stein in his head" Firestorm comes later, I just thought it would be amusing if Stein had used the powers on his own previously and then had to deal with an idiot teenager being the one in control (no offense to teenagers seeing as I am one, and definitely no offense to Ronnie since he's one of my favorite characters ever). Besides, as you can see I'm kind of playing around with backstories anyways.**

 **(And for those of you who aren't Firestorm fans, sorry if you're getting annoyed with all the references I'm dropping into the fic. I'm trying to drop hints at plotlines for other stories set in this continuity of fics, but I think I've done a few too many in a row. Oops.)**

 **I'm trying to get an update schedule in place, but I don't know how successful that will be. I don't have school or work for a while though, so fingers crossed?**

 **Thank you everyone who reviewed, followed, and added this story to their favorites! I don't have time to list everyone right now since I need to go to bed, but you're highly appreciated :)**

 **Quote of the day!**

" _Eat well today! You've earned it! And by "it," I mean "massive food allergies"! And by "earned," I mean "acquired". I should proof this stuff before I read it out loud. Let's try that again. You've acquired massive food allergies! Yes, much cleaner. Eat well!"_ -Welcome To Night Vale

 **May the odds be ever in your favor,**

 **Spectrobes Princess**


	17. Level H

8/26/17

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans_

… **..…...**

Cursed

Chapter Seventeen: Level H

… **.**

 _September 13, 2008_

He haunts my dreams at night.

Every night I see him- the boy in the Flash costume from the day of Jade and Roy's betrayal. The circumstances are always different, of course, but every night he makes an appearance. In a way I can't describe, my dreams haven't felt the same since he began to appear. My days of looking upon The Flash's heroics with starry eyes are long over, yet his presence has been comforting as the world around me continues to change. Even when I feel like I'm all alone, he's there for me every time I end my day. Sometimes, this small slither of consistency is the only thing that pushes me to get through the day.

But today, change is welcome. Today, I am 12 years old. And even though my birthdays haven't been a big deal since I joined the Junior HIVE Academy, this year I have something to celebrate. After all, it's not every day you graduate to Level H on your birthday.

So maybe the boy in my dreams will understand why I set an early alarm this morning. I was almost too excited to sleep at all, truth be told. The sight of my brand new uniforms, laying clean and shiny on the empty bed next to mine, haunted me as I tossed and turned last night. All I wanted was for today to finally be here, and now today is the day.

I admire myself in the mirror, feeling just a little arrogant. The Level H uniform is different from the uniform the other levels wear, setting us all apart as the highest level of the hierarchy. Unless, of course, you count the HIVE Academy. Graduations may be in December, but it's unlikely I'll make it far enough through the course to make it there. Most likely, I'll have to wait another year. But even if I do, just knowing that I'm a Level H is enough.

After I finish tying my hair into a ponytail, I sling my backpack over my shoulders and leave my room for the first time as a Level H. As I walk through the hallway, younger members of the academy stare in awe, just as I did at their age. You would think I was Madame Rouge! I'm nowhere near her level yet, but maybe someday…

The focus shifts away from me as I enter the cafeteria, as it always does. I have a way of blending in, despite my bubblegum pink hair and ash gray skin. Then again, there are stranger things to be seen here, and there are children with far more unusual characteristics. It's harder for physical beauty to dictate popularity here, though harder doesn't mean impossible.

I get my tray and take a seat at one of the empty tables. The sound of mindless chatter fills the air as I eat my breakfast. It's been a long time since I've been a part of the noise, and for good reason. A few tables away, Baran sits by himself as well. I can't help but feel sorry for him. He would've been in the HIVE Academy by now if Selinda's betrayal hadn't made him depressed out of his mind. With their 14th birthday coming up, this December he'll have no choice. Yet, this wasn't a problem for me. Rather, the betrayals that occurred that fateful day were what pushed me to become more focused, more driven. Now, the only thing I care about is becoming a full-fledged member of the HIVE, and I have Roy and Jade to thank.

Having no one to talk to has it's perks. When you're not talking, you finish eating much more quickly. This usually gives me time to read over my notes before class, although today my plans were set back by a minor annoyance.

And by annoyance, I mean Angela.

She advances towards me, followed by her clique. Over the years, it has grown in both size and annoyance, and some old "favorites" like Seymour have continued to mindlessly serve her over the years. Her lackeys are laughing and pushing each other around as they walk, though Angela's face is stony. It's almost as though my very presence is enough to ruin her day.

"Excuse me Mallory. I don't know if you're aware of this since you don't talk to anyone, but this is our table," she says, hand on hip.

Actually, I'm perfectly aware of that. I just don't give a crap.

"You know you can still sit here right?"

Angela looks as though I just insulted her mother. "Ew, as if! Not even Baran wants to sit by you."

I'm about to sass her back, but something behind her catches my eye- the headmistress walking out of the cafeteria, holding the hand of a young boy. He's probably around the age Jade was, if his height is any indication. The sight brings me back to when I first joined the academy. Back when I was young and innocent, and truly believed that my foster parents would even consider taking me back if I were to return. I know better now. They've probably settled down in Central-Keystone with my sister. The three of them are likely a happy, official family now. Maybe they even took in another (normal) child to replace me, hoping Lissy wouldn't notice the difference. And who knows? Maybe they've forgotten the difference as well.

"Mallory, are you even listening to me?" Angela shrieks, snapping me back to reality.

Seymour tugs on her shoulder. "Um, Angel? Can't we just find somewhere else to sit?"

Angela huffs and storms away, and her clique follows closely behind her. I roll my eyes and pull out my book in hopes of getting at least a little extra study time. However, before I can begin, Baran walks past and hands me a note.

"What's this?" I ask as I begin to unfold the note.

"Headmistress said to give it to you. Dunno what it's about," he says, walking away before I can say another word.

 _Mallory,_

 _Meet me in my office at eleven o' clock sharp. Do not be late, or there will be consequences._

 _-Headmistress_

…

 **Hi again! Sorry it's been a while. I do have good news though! I'm officially finished writing the outline for this story! If everything goes according to plan, this story should be exactly sixty chapters long. I'm hoping to be finished writing it by this time next year. I also have my writing schedule sorted out, and I'll be aiming to update at least once every other week. Sometimes it may take me less time, sometimes it may take more, but at least it's a start.**

 **In other news, I listened to Taylor Swift's new song yesterday. Those of you who aren't fans can feel free to ignore me, but _holy crap_! It's Jinx! It fits her so freaking well! Like, maybe it's just because I've been spending so much time thinking through Jinx's perspective, but still. So next time I have writer's block I'll try putting LWYMMD on loop and see if that helps ;)**

 **Thank you for all the follows, favorites, and reviews! I'm glad everyone liked seeing little Wally, and for those of you who are wondering Flinx is most definitely endgame. It'll take a while to get to that point, sure, but trust me when I say it's coming up ;)**

 **Quote of the day!**

" _It's better than drugs, Jeremy- it's from **Japan**!" _ -Rich Goranski, Be More Chill

 **May the odds be ever in your favor,**

 **Spectrobes Princess**


	18. Return to Darkway Prep

9/9/17

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans_

… **.**

Cursed

Chapter Eighteen: Return to Darkway Prep

… **..**

September 13, 2008

I hug my backpack to my chest as I walk through the halls. The stares of the other students pierce through me, but I make a point of snubbing them. Who needs them anyways?

By the time I reach Headmistress's office, she is already sitting in her chair waiting for me. I'm reminded of the first day I came here, when I ate oreos in this very room and listened to her every word as she explained my strange new life to me. The same uncertain, nervous excitement buzzes through my brain as I shut the door behind me and take the seat in front of her.

"I received your note," I say, trying to control the shaking in my voice. "You would like to speak to me?"

Headmistress nods, pulling out a few files in generic manila folders. "Yes Mallory. It's about your grades."

Oh no, did I do something wrong? I thought I near the top of my class when I was a Level G, and I haven't been given any assignments since I was promoted. My grades should be fine, shouldn't they?

"My grades?"

"You're not in trouble. Quite the opposite, actually."

I sigh in relief. She's just going to brag about me.

Headmistress begins pulling papers out of the folders. "Mallory, no other student in the academy has the same academic drive as you. For years I've found myself lucky to have someone so serious about our… mission. Because of this, I would like to promote you to a Level 1 HIVE Agent as soon as possible."

I nearly jump for joy, before remembering to control myself that is. "Really? You want me to graduate? But, I just moved up to Level H. Aren't there things I need to learn first?"

Headmistress smiles for the first time in years. "Yes, of course, but for someone like you it would be perfectly reasonable to assume you can do it all before December. I've had students do it in even less time. In fact, the reason I've called you in here today is because I have an assignment that, upon completion, will satisfy one of the requirements for graduation."

I have to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming. The pain and lack of Flash Jr. make it clear that this is reality, but I still can't believe it.

"That is, if you're up to it," she says with a scowl.

I realize I must have been staring into space, so I immediately snap back to giving her my full attention.

"Yes Headmistress, of course!" I say, almost pleading. This could be my chance to be somebody. I'd be a fool not to take it.

"Very well then. Do you remember your… impromptu mission to Darkway Prep?"

Of course I do. Memories begin to resurface of our journey. Jade burning her hand, the three of us pulling the fire alarm and hiding in the bathroom, taking the cane from the red-haired boy with ice powers…

"Yes Headmistress," I answer.

She nods, straightening the stack of papers on her desk. "Good. Which brings us to the mission at hand. If you'll remember, you brought me the cane of Headmaster Mod when you returned. However, upon my examining it I realized that it no longer contained its original powers."

"What kind of powers?" I ask.

She lays the top sheet of paper, a picture of the cane, in front of her and gestures to the gem sitting on top of it. "Have you ever heard of the Philosopher's Stone?"

A memory of watching Harry Potter with my family comes to mind. "Yes Headmistress."

"In theory, the gem on top of the cane is supposed to contain it. In this case, the wielder of the cane is granted immortality and powers over the elements, among other things. However, the gem was a fake, only capable of casting illusions," Headmistress says.

I begin to piece together what's going on. "So this has something to do with the mission?"

"Correct," she says. "While these things may seem insignificant, without Mod's powers the school is weakened. And now that the school is weakened, I can reclaim what is rightfully mine."

"What is it?" I ask.

The Headmistress's scowl returns, and I immediately understand that I've overstepped my boundaries. Fear consumes me, and for a moments I'm worried that she won't let me join the mission after all.

"That's none of your concern Mallory. The older students at the HIVE Academy will handle it. However, there is still an opportunity for a group of students here at the Junior HIVE to assist us. And I would like you to be their leader."

"You- you want _me_ to lead?" I ask.

"Of course. You're a natural leader. Unless, of course, you would like to stay here at the Junior HIVE for another year and wait until next December to graduate."

I shake my head. "No Headmistress- I mean- I'll take the job!"

She seems unimpressed with my unprofessional-ism, but hands me a file anyways. "Very well then. The time and date of the first meeting are in the file. Do not be late."

"I won't! Thank you so much!" I say, taking the file and grinning ear to ear.

"You are dismissed. Oh, and Mallory?"

I pause, halfway out the door. "Yes Headmistress?"

Something in her eyes darkens, and the feeling in the room turns ominous. "Don't disappoint me."

I feel as though the blood in my veins has turned cold. I look her in the eyes, and force my voice to stay even.

"Yes Headmistress."

… **.**

 **Hi again! Holy crap have I been stressed out lately! If any of you live in the areas affected by the wildfires or hurricanes, please stay safe! I'm praying for you guys!**

 **Sorry for the short chapter. I didn't really get much time to write this week because I had a really hard assignment in my online class. It didn't look that hard when I first looked at it, but wow it took a while.**

 **Anyways, quote of the day!**

" _Wanna play Avengers? I've got goggles to be Aquaman!"_ -my six year old brother

 **(Written form cannot properly convey the look of utter confusion his best friend gave him)**

 **Here's to hoping nature calms the heck down!**

 **(and that this statement doesn't become ironic)**

 **~Spectrobes Princess**


	19. Gizmo

10/7/17

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans_

… **.**

Cursed

Chapter Nineteen: Gizmo

… **..**

 _(September 18, 2008. Earth-24)_

Once again, I find myself walking down the halls of the Junior HIVE Academy. It's hard to believe that I will soon take this familiar route for the final time. If all goes according to plan, I'll be out of here sooner than I ever planned, which is exciting. But I'm not sure if I'm ready to let this place go.

Today's destination is the cafeteria, where I agreed to meet with the other members of my group for the mission. It's hard to contain my excitement, but I know I have to- after all, a true leader must keep her cool in any situation. But the concept of simply being a leader again is enough to make me stray away from my mantra. I've dreamed of the day I get to go on a real mission again for so long!

If only Jade and Roy were here.

No, they made their choice. They're traitors, after all. They probably weren't even my real friends. As I've told myself before, it would be better to forget about them. But no matter how hard I try, I find that I can't.

The hallway is empty, except for me and my thoughts. It's weird, but it's probably because most of the other students are in class right now. Skipping class is an unknown perk of being on the path to graduation. Which is strange, because you would think that I would need to be in class studying, but oddly enough it looks like most of the requirements for graduating aren't academic based. But don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. My class for this hour, one about aliases, is getting me nowhere. For someone who has been using a fake name for years, I'm having a little too much trouble picking a replacement.

It's just… nothing sounds right. When I became Mallory, the name just clicked. I never had any problems with remembering it, or that I had changed it at all. I never accidentally introduced myself as Linda, and I never sat around wallowing in how much I hated my new name. But that was different. Mallory is my middle name- something that's always been a part of who I am. Any attempts at creating an alias sound like I'm trying to be someone I'm not. Charmer, Curse, Lucky- nothing sounds right. They sound fake.

As I continue down the hall and obsess over my situation, I actually see someone at the end of the hall. Which is weird, but maybe it's one of my teammates.

Wrong. It's Angela, taunting the little boy I saw the other day as he shouts back what I can only assume to be his attempt at swearing.

"Hey, Angela! Pick on somebody your own size!" I shout, hexes tingling along my wrist.

The boy backs away timidly, but Angela crosses her arms and stands her ground.

"Well if it isn't Mallory. Why do you even bother? We all know who's stronger," Angela boasts.

I laugh to myself. "You're right, it's me. Friendly reminder that I'm a Level H now, and you're just a Level G. Clearly, you're the one who isn't good enough."

Judging by the look on her face, I'd say I've struck a nerve. She flutters her wings angrily and narrows her golden eyes at me, but I refuse to wipe the smug grin off my face. Neither of us have time for a confrontation today, but that doesn't mean I can't be catty.

"Is that so," she says, hissing through her teeth.

"Yeah," I brag. "In fact, I'm going to be seeing the Headmistress very soon. How do you think she would feel if I told her you were picking on kids?"

Without another word to me, Angela sticks her nose in the air and walks away.

"I could've handled that, you pit-sniffing crudmuncher!" the boy snaps, stomping his foot.

"Yeah right," I scoff. Him verses Angela. There's a thought!

We glare at each other, and both begin walking side by side. It's probably a good thing that wherever he's going is on the way to the cafeteria, seeing as he's already established that he has a case of Chihuahua Syndrome. Maybe it's a good thing that he has someone to look out for him now.

He must not feel the same, however, because after about three minutes of this he turns to me and yells, "I told you, I can take care of myself!"

"I know," I say dryly. "We just happen to be going in the same direction."

"Well stop following me!" he snaps.

What did I get myself into?

"Look, it's like I said!" I yell as I spot the entrance to the cafeteria. "I'm just going right there!"

"No, _I'm_ going there!"

"Well maybe we're both going there! Now shut up and follow me in!"

"Why do _I_ have to follow _you_!"

"Because you told me you don't want _me_ to follow _you_! Now come on!"

He finally shuts his bratty little mouth, and I almost regret saving him from Angela. Maybe a slap to the face would've humbled the little brat.

Together, we begrudgingly walk into the cafeteria, where the Headmistress is already seated next to Baran. At the sight of him, I instantly feel a little calmer.

"Mallory, Mikron, have a seat."

Oh crap, he's in my group!

We both sit down (me next to Baran, Mikron next to the Headmistress but unfortunately across from me) and the Headmistress begins.

"Now, the three of you are the only Junior HIVE agents going on this mission, so I expect you to be on your best behavior. If you do not give the older agents a reason to respect you, you will not be respected. And it will your own fault when the three of you graduate in December and your new classmates refuse to take you seriously."

Baran is roughly as confused as I am. "You're telling me this little squirt is a Level H?"

"Say that to my face you snot-faced-"

"Mikron," Headmistress interrupts, "may be young, but he is a technological genius. To hold him back would be a waste of potential."

Mikron smirks and leans back in his seat, which tragically affects how well we're able to see him.

"Now, if we are done behaving like children, I would like to explain your mission."

"Yes Headmistress," we all say, in nearly perfect unison.

"Good. Now, the mission of our older students is to go to Darkway Prep and retrieve something which rightfully belongs to me. However, after the last time a group of our students invaded, the school has appointed student guards to protect the school. Your mission is to distract those guards so our students can slip in."

"Sounds easy enough," Baran says.

"It is a simple task," Headmistress agrees. "However, it is not one you should take lightly. Your failure or success will be part of what determines if you will graduate this December."

Hearing her words make me nervous, but I nod my head in understanding.

"Good. I will go into more detail on the night of the 26th. In the meantime, you must prepare. I give you full permission to skip classes in order to do so."

"Yes Headmistress."

She gets up to leave, before pausing for a moment. "One more thing. Mallory is in charge."

This time, there's more hesitance before the others join me.

"Yes Headmistress."

She leaves us alone, and we wait for her to be out of earshot before beginning our discussion.

"Who do you think you are?" Mikron asks.

"Excuse me?"

"Being the leader, knuckle-head. What makes you so special?"

I don't answer, because I can't. Sure, there are reasons why she may have chosen me, but those things don't necessarily mean she had to pick me. She could have easily chosen someone less qualified, so they could have the experience. And saying that I do have the necessary skills makes me sound arrogant. The last thing I want is another fight.

Much to my surprise, Baran answers for me.

"Mallory's a good leader. I trust her."

Mikron stares at me for a moment, before giving his final verdict.

"Fine. I'll give you a chance."

I can't help but smile.

"Thank you. I promise I won't let you down!"

I'm not sure why, but a part of me knows that the three of us will make a great team.

… **..**

 **Hi again! Sorry I haven't updated in a month. Life's been busy, but with NaNoWriMo coming up I'm hoping to get more writing done.**

 **I think I forgot to respond to reviews last time, so I'm getting it all it one go if that's okay ;)**

 **Thank you:**

 **Rose (guest) for reviewing (Thanks!)**

 **nomnomthegreat for reviewing (Aww, thanks! Have you heard her other new song yet? It's fantastic!)**

 **Moheart7 for following and favoriting**

 **Silver-Infinite for reviewing (Thanks! I hope she'll appear somewhere else too. I heard they're doing a live-action Teen Titans show, so maybe she'll show up there eventually. I'll be excited for it even if they don't include Jinx though, since I've been waiting for more Titans since sixth grade)**

 **Quote of the day!**

" _Oh, it's nothing. You know, I'm just talking to the disembodied professor who lives in my head."_ -Justice League Action, Firestorm

 **May the odds be ever in your favor,**

 **Spectrobes Princess**


	20. Dreams and Disasters

**11/3/17**

 **Cursed**

 **Chapter Twenty: Dreams and Disasters**

… **.…..…..**

 _September 26, 2008_

 _Blue light surrounds me as I walk through the forest. The trees are everywhere, with virtually no gaps between them. When there is a gap, all I can see through it is a pair of glowing eyes. There is no end in sight, but I must reach the end._

 _Then, I see it. A blue puddle of liquid, trailing down the path I'm walking on. I follow it, running as fast as I can, but when I reach the source I wish I hadn't. Lying there, unconscious and bleeding, is the boy in the Flash suit._

I wake up in a cold sweat, clutching my stuffed animals in a death grip. I try to calm myself down, but to no avail. Taking deep breaths isn't helping, and I can't distract myself either. This never happens. In all my years of having these dreams, they've all been peaceful. Happy, even. Never like this.

I hug Zippy closer yet, if that's even possible, and bury my head in my pillow. I don't know what that was. I don't know how to process it. I know it wasn't real, but it scares me. Choking on my tears, I try to figure out what happened, but I can't.

Minutes, maybe even hours, pass before I can make myself get up. I wipe my eyes on my blanket and set Zippy down next to Clover, not bothering to make the bed. I'll be tired when I get home from the mission, and if what just happened is any indication of how things will go I know I'll want to get to bed as soon as I can. Unless that triggers another nightmare. Maybe taking that nap wasn't such a good idea after all. I had good intentions, but as always things went horribly wrong. My powers suit my life perfectly. I'm just not lucky.

At least I still have time to get ready. Changing out of the typical uniform of the Junior HIVE Academy, I put on the stealth suit given to me by Headmistress earlier this week. I brush my hair and tie it out of my face, and then I lace up my boots. I push my backpack under my bed, since I won't be needing it, and double check my appearance in the mirror. I think I'm ready.

I still have a few minutes until I need to leave, so I organize my desk and try to sort out my thoughts. The dream didn't exactly hit me at a great time. I was already nervous about tonight, and I didn't need anything else weighing on my mind. If it was hard to stay calm before, it's even harder now. I decide to leave early, since I have nothing better to do. Not that I'm looking forward to tonight anymore.

When I get to the cafeteria, I begin to realize that I'm not the only one who decided to get there early. I'm greeted by the sight of students I knew years ago who have long since graduated to the HIVE Academy. The familiar faces calm me down, until I see Sarah, bullying Baran as usual. It's like she can't grow up or something!

"Do you really think you can actually graduate this year? Face it Baran, even you can't be that stupid. I don't even know why you bother trying- unless you still have that little crush on me. I almost pity you," she sneers.

I scowl and make my way over there, ready to give her a piece of my mind!

"Leave him alone you freak!" I snap as sparks of purple begin sizzling around my hands. Good. I needed a way to get some frustration out.

"I'm sorry, who are you again?" she asks in one of those condensing voices middle-aged women use on babies. "Oh, right! You're that kid who used to hang around the traitors! I always knew Selinda didn't have what it takes."

That's it. Now I'm beyond angry!

I'm about to punch her pathetic face in when Mikron struts into the room. I force myself to calm down and look her in the eyes.

"You know what? I'm not even going to waste my time on you. Come on Baran, let's go hang out with someone who _isn't_ too old to act like a baby," I sneer, taking Baran by the arm and dragging him away.

Shots. Fired.

"Um..." Baran stutters. "You didn't have to stand up for me like that. She's always like that."

"Oh shut up. If you don't want me to stand up for you, you need to learn to stand up for yourself," I sigh.

Baran's quiet for a moment, even as we take our seats next to Mikron. The younger boy doesn't seem to be willing to talk either, as he's currently tinkering with some kind of machine. The three of us sit in silence until Headmistress walks in carrying a briefcase. We notice her immediately, while the older students are too busy conversing among themselves to take notice. She clears her throat, and all eyes become focused on her.

"We will be starting early today. If any student is not currently here, we will continue without them regardless as to if they do get here. The first thing you must learn is that in this life you are not always going to be given second chances. In addition to this, if you are not early you are automatically late. This is a harsh lesson that is not learned easily. Consider yourselves lucky that the punishment I have chosen to inflict is not as harsh as it should be."

Already, I can sense a difference in the way she treats the students of the Junior HIVE Academy from the HIVE Academy. I'm used to her being harsh and blunt, yes, but not this much. Things are certainly more strict here, and I'm not sure that I like it. Isn't second chances what life is about? If you fail at something, shouldn't you be allowed to try again? My father -not my biological one, of course-once told me that the best of artists start out drawing stick figures. If someone would've saw Picasso making his first attempts at drawing and proceeded to ban him from ever making another artistic endeavor, the world wouldn't have his paintings. We would've lost something special, just because someone had the same worldview as Headmistress. And if she told us to meet her in the cafeteria at a certain time but meant to have us leave early, shouldn't she have told us the correct time to begin with? I understand that she's trying to weed out the apathetic, those who aren't as excited and hard working, but is there not a better way?

I know better than to stand up to someone so powerful, but as I continue to silently listen to her I can't help but wonder if I'll make it through even a day of the HIVE Academy's stricter rules.

"Now, as you know, today we are undertaking a task so daunting, only the most driven of students could be selected. If you are here today you can not only consider yourselves lucky, but also the most likely of your classmates to be destined for great things. If everything goes as planned, it will change the way the HIVE operates for all of eternity. The method of creating the most powerful new meta-humans will be at our fingertips! We will have the ability to create armies of soldiers overnight! Just imagine- world domination has been a dream of many, but today we stand closer than they could ever dream," Headmistress says, beaming with pride.

Sarah smirks, whispering what I can only imagine to be a derogatory comment to her friend sitting next to her. What I can't imagine, however, is what Headmistress would want with world domination. While her motives have always been unclear to me, world domination just doesn't sound like something she would plan. The Headmistress I grew up with was always kind and willing to help children whose families turned their backs on them. What would that Headmistress want with the control of the entire planet?

"I have utmost faith in my students. You all already know how proud of you I am. Disappoint me, and there will be consequences. Now, as I have reviewed with you previously, our top student, Sarah, will lead the team that will be retrieving the stolen file from STAR Labs. Inside this file is the precious information on Killer Frost's transformation, and that information cannot stay in the hands of rivals any longer. Whatever they themselves were planning to do with this information, it is not as important as our mission!"

I can't help but feel that Headmistress has completely forgotten about Baran, Mikron, and I. She keeps saying that she has previously mentioned things, but she never told us any of those things! And in addition to this nonsense, she also told us what they're going after. Earlier, didn't she tell us that it wasn't any of our business? What happened to that?

As though she can read my mind, she finally turns to us and adds, "Mallory, as you are aware, you are to lead your own half of the mission. Your job is to distract the student guards that have been appointed since your last visit. Inside the file I will give to you is a detailed route of their usual paths, taken from security footage. You are to review it with your team and determine the best manner to split up. I must warn you, however, that as with the file stolen from us on the multiverse, the Justice League has shown interest in retrieving the file and giving it back to its proper owners. If they choose to strike tonight, there will be no way to track their movements, so you must be alert!"

I nod my head as she walks towards us and places a file on our table. I try to get her to pause for a moment, to give us any other information she has, but she walks away before I can even bother. She returns to her previous location, and finishes her speech.

"Any questions?" she asks. As tempting as it would be to ask for more clarification, her tone makes it clear that the question was out of courtesy and wasn't meant to actually be answered. Even if it was, I'm sure it her offer would've only applied to the students in the HIVE Academy, not those of us from the Junior HIVE. So I keep my mouth shut.

"Then let us begin."

… **..**

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or anything else I may mention_

 **(I'm not sure if I've mentioned this yet, but Baran and Mikron are actually Mammoth and Gizmo's secret identities from the comics. Which are kind of strange names, but in a way they kind of suit them?)**

 **Hi again! National Novel Writing Month (or NaNoWriMo, if you will) is officially in full swing! Expect me to attempt posting more updates than usual this month, and for whatever I post to be a bit wordier than usual. I'm attempting to write 50,000 words this month, but that most likely won't happen. Still, it's better to try than to just tell yourself you can't do something and just give up.**

 **Chapter title comes from the song "Dreams and Disasters" by Owl City, since I had it stuck in my head while I was writing this. While I'm not entirely sure that the song itself fits the chapter, the title definitely does a good job at foreshadowing what's to come so I'm just going to roll with it.**

 **Thank you Cliche Girl for reviewing (If memory serves, at the moment Mammoth is 14, Gizmo is around 5 or 6, and Jinx is 12. This puts them at 19, 11-ish, and 17 during the battle against the Brotherhood of Evil. The Titans will be making their first appearance pretty soon if I stay on track with my outline, and Kid Kold and Roy are actually going to show up again _much_ sooner than that ;) ), Jiinxie for following, Guest for reviewing, and Silver-Infinite for reviewing ( :) )**

 **Quote of the day!**

" _If there was a hole here, I'd wanna crawl into it! I wanna dig a hole and hide!"_ **-an NPC on Pokemon Moon who shares my opinions on social gatherings**

 **May the odds be ever in your favor,**

 **Spectrobes Princess**


	21. A Two Way Street

11/12/17

… **...**

 **Cursed**

 **Chapter Twenty-One: A Two Way Street**

… **.**

 _September 26, 2008_

Large trucks must be Headmistress's favorite form of transportation, because we end up taking one to get to this field trip as well. I spent the entire ride looking over maps of the perimeter with Baran and Mikron by the light of a flashlight. Despite Mikron's earlier protests, he was surprisingly eager to follow my suggestions, and we soon had a concrete plan to aid the HIVE agents in their quest. When the truck was parked, we all climbed out and split up, going to our various posts. For Baran and Mikron, that meant starting on the north and east side of the building respectively. For me, it meant starting west.

Which means I inevitably chose the most difficult side. While most of the building is surrounded by concrete structures, the west side has grown what I can only describe as a small jungle in my absence. Which is odd, since plants usually can't grow that fast, but I guess it's not impossible. They probably have a student who can control plants or something. But whatever, it's cool. As the leader, I _should_ get to start with the most difficult side. And after that I'll get to move on to the south side, which is the clearest side with little to no places for any student guards to hide. After I get through all this leafy vegetation crap, this mission should be a piece of cake.

And it is. I end up making a few rounds around the building without running into any student guards or Baran and Mikron. The latter is good, since it means there weren't any complications with them. Our plan is to move in a counter clockwise circle around the building, and then when we reach our beginning point we switch to a clockwise rotation, and so on. However, I begin to feel slightly concerned that I haven't seen any student guards yet. If that saw me, then yeah of course we'd have a problem. But if I'm not seeing them, then what does that mean. Have Baran and Mikron seen any? It's not like I have a way to ask them.

Suddenly, because I'm the luckiest girl in the world, I trip over a wire, thus springing a trap. Before I can so much as blink, I've been swooped up into a large net dangling from a tree. I let out a loud scream and start furiously pulling at the thread, but none of that stupid stuff is coming loose! I start panicking. What's going to happen to me now? Will the student guards find me before my own teammates can? What if no one finds me at all? And even if someone I know does find me, does this mean I fail?

I hear the sound of footsteps and tense up. A little girl with short brown hair cautiously tiptoes around the corner of the building. Her attire's color scheme catches my attention. Her jumpsuit's main colors, pastel yellow and mint green, look rather nice together, but don't do much for her as far as blending in goes. While by no means fluorescent, it's almost as if she chose colors that would deliberately make it easy to pick her out in a crowd. Her wide blue eyes meet mine, and her face lights up like a Christmas tree.

"Speedy! Speedy, c'mere!" she yells, jumping up and down.

Immediately, a young boy dressed in red runs around the corner holding a bow, arrow notched and ready to shoot. Frantically he looks around before lowering his bow. His mask does little to hide the fact that he's scowling.

"Tula! How many times have I told you to be quiet unless it's an emergency?"

The girl crosses her arms. "Well now that you've mentioned it, you've never told me that. You've implied it with sarcasm, but you've never actually said it. But look in that tree! One of those kids fell into their own trap!"

Speedy looks at me, and for some reason seems shocked.

"Good work Aquagirl. Go see if you can find Superboy. I'm… sure he could use some company."

The girl sighs, rubbing her arm. "I don't know. He acted like he wanted to be left alone. I'm surprised he even felt like coming."

Speedy puts a hand on her shoulder. "Which is why someone needs to keep an eye on him. The League already lost one sidekick. We don't need to lose two."

She nods her head and pulls him into a hug, which he returns. Aquagirl then pulls away and scampers off, leaving me alone with Speedy.

"Need a hand Mallory?"

I narrow my eyes. "How do you know my name?"

Speedy grins, taking off his mask. I gasp, falling backwards in the net.

"Roy?"

"In the flesh," he says, putting the mask back on.

I still can't get over the shock. "What are you doing here?" I ask as he cuts down the net with the tip of an arrow. Guess I know his "superpower" now.

"Same reason I was spying on the HIVE. Darkway Prep has a file that doesn't belong to them, so we're getting it back," Roy says, helping me down.

Oops. This could mean trouble.

"Define _we_."

Roy looks nervous. "Well, me obviously. Then there's Aquagirl, Superboy, and… nope, that's it actually. Just the three of us."

"And does the Justice League know you're here?" I ask.

Roy sighs, shaking his head. "No, they don't. It's just… they've been going through a rough time. Martian Manhunter especially, with what happened to Mars and all. He's been really stressed over this so we thought maybe if we could get this file back, maybe Manhunter could sleep a little easier."

I nod my head, leaning against a tree. I wasn't told about something happening to Mars, but I don't think Roy has a reason to lie.

"Are you still with the HIVE?" Roy asks. I nod my head, and it's hard to miss how concerned he looks at that answer. "I hate to pry but..."

He stops, looking into the distance. I follow his gaze to a group of bushes and see a bit of movement, but then everything is still.

"What were you saying?" I ask.

"Do you really think you can trust them?" Roy asks.

I frown. "Trust who?"

"The HIVE. Has HIVE Queen ever really given you a reason to trust her?"

HIVE Queen. I think I remember someone on the Justice League calling Headmistress that on the day we fought. That must be what those who aren't lucky enough to know her like I do call her. But Roy has a point. If what I saw earlier tonight at the meeting was any indication, has Headmistress been lying to me about who she really is and what her intentions are? Could I just be a pawn to her? Does she really care?

Before I can wonder any longer, someone jumps out of the bushes and hits us with a beam of ice.

…

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or anything else I may mention_

 **Hi again! NaNoWriMo isn't going so great for me, but I'm doing much better than I was last year and that's what counts. In other news, I'm super excited for the Justice League movie coming out this week! I'm not expecting it to be a masterpiece though, to be honest, but as long as it's better than Batman v Superman I'll still leave the theater a happy DC fan. Is anyone else planning on seeing it?**

 **Reviews:**

 **Cliche Girl- Thanks! It's like Kid Flash said, there's still definitely some good in Jinx. There will be a time skip coming up in a few chapters, and a chapter or two after the time skip will be when the HIVE meets the Titans. I'm looking forward to writing it!**

 **Guest- Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying the story!**

 **Silver-Infinite- Honestly that's one of the things I love so much about being in a fandom with so much source material. In other fandoms there's only so much trivia about the material to learn, but with Teen Titans you can be a fan for years and still learn something new. It's even better when you learn it from a fanfiction! :)**

 **Quote of the day!**

" _I tried to start a revolution, but I didn't print enough pamphlets so hardly anyone turned up. Except for my mum and her boyfriend, who I hate."_ -Korg, Thor: Ragnarok

 **May the odds be ever in your favor,**

 **~Spectrobes Princess**


	22. Crossed Paths

11/13/17

… **..…..…..…..…..**

 **Cursed**

 **Chapter Twenty-Two: Crossed Paths**

… **..**

September 26, 2008

A fight ensues. It's dark, and our enemy sticks to the shadows, but I'm confident that at least a few of my hexes or Roy's arrows have hit our target. However, most of them miss, and under the cover of darkness it's hard to tell how many are actually doing any damage. Meanwhile, nearly all of his beams of ice have hit us, and it becomes easy to feel discouraged.

"Mallory, look out!" Roy yells as I try to dodge a blast of ice. It sinks into my shoulder, and a piercing stab of pain overtakes my whole arm.

I toss a hex at our attacker as Roy runs to my aid. But as I did, he trips a net trap and is flung into a nearby tree. I try to hex the fibers of the net in hopes of creating an opening, but they're too strong. The beams of ice change their direction, as if I'm being lead away from my friend, and I have no choice but to go in the direction I'm being herded.

I continue to hex and dodge as I'm lead into a clearing, deep within the forest. I can only assume there are more traps here, so I try to be as alert as I can be. But as I move to the center of the clearing, my foe discovers that he can no longer hide and steps into the light.

A boy who is maybe a year or two older than I am with shaggy red hair and an over-sized blue parka jumps into the clearing. Snowflakes dance around his hands and sparkle in the moonlight. He adjusts his goggles and blasts me with ice, and this time I manage to jump out of the way. I laugh manically, thoroughly enjoying the fight, and he stops abruptly.

"Wait a second," he growls. "You're that little punk who stole Headmaster Mod's cane!"

Suddenly, I remember him too. "The name's Mallory," I say smugly. "I assume you're the little punk who tried to stop me?"

He scowls. "The name's Leo. Would you care to explain what you're doing here this time? I would assume the whole stealing the cane bit would be getting old."

I smirk as my stealth suit begins to beep loudly- the signal that it's time to get out of here. "Oh, you'll find out soon enough. See you around Leo!"

With that, I turn around and run away. I'm just in earshot enough to hear his reply of, "Trust me, I'm looking forward to it."

I'm surprised to see that Roy has escaped from the net when I pass where we once were, but I'm even more surprised that Leo doesn't try to catch me. Neither of these things bother me though. I may have lost Roy before, but if he came back to me once chances are we'll meet again. And as for Leo? Let's just say I have a feeling that the two of us are fated to cross paths again very, very soon.

…

 **Hi again! I had some time to kill before work today so I just kind of sat there and wrote this little snippet of a chapter. It ended up being a lot shorter than anticipated, but I don't think it would fit very well with the scene I have planned for next chapter so I decided to just post it as is. Besides, I never get to update two days in a row. This is special to me ;)**

 **Thank you Cliche Girl for reviewing! Yeah, it was a bit of a YJ reference. The Aquagirl and Superboy I had in mind when writing the chapter were Tula Marius and Conner Kent (they'll both have major appearances in the other stories I have planned that are set in this continuity, so I thought I'd foreshadow them a bit). Thor was an excellent movie, and I'm looking forward to writing more Kid Kold in the upcoming chapters.**

 **Quote of the day!**

" _Miguel, you know that little voice people have that tells them to quit when they're ahead? You don't have one!"_ -Tulio, The Road To El Dorado

 **May the odds be ever in your favor,**

 **Spectrobes Princess**


	23. Promises to Friends

12/18/17

 **..…...…..….**

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans_

… **..…..…..….….….….…..**

 **Cursed**

 **Chapter Twenty Three: Promises to Friends**

… **.**

 _Earth 24_

 _September 27, 2008_

That night, my dreams are more peaceful. My friend is back too, with no signs of what happened to him the previous night. Tonight we pick flowers in a meadow under a cloudy sky, while a fierce wind whips through the tall grass. We don't talk to each other, as usual, but every so often we glance at each other curiously. And for the first time, I wonder if perhaps I'm not as alone in my dreams as I previously believed.

When I wake up, I feel content. All I want is to go back to sleep and continue our adventure, as uneventful as it was, but my alarm tells me I cannot. Still, last night's events have put me in a good mood, much better than the way I felt when I woke up from yesterday's nap. I shut off my alarm and sit up in bed, pushing my pillows and stuffed animals to the side. There's a manila envelope sitting on the ground in front of the door, which must have been slid under the door last night while I was sleeping.

I climb out of bed and pick up the folder, opening it up to investigate the contents. Inside is a new schedule, and a set of badges. My heart races as I pull one out of the folder, and I gleefully read the inscription.

 _Junior HIVE Academy_

 _Graduating Class of 2008_

I squeal, jumping up and down and spinning in circles. I made it! I finally made it! I kiss the badge and set it and the rest of the package on the desk. I have to get ready!

I change into a fresh uniform and pin the badge to it proudly. I make my bed as professionally as I can manage, and start brushing my hair. Today, I decide to wear it in pigtails as Jade often did. Seeing Roy last night made me realize just how much I miss them, even if they did betray the HIVE, and it feels right to fix my hair in honor of one of the people who helped me become the person I am today. However, I run into a bit of a problem. The pigtails won't stop sticking up.

I wish I was joking, I really do. But I'm not. No matter how much I brush them, no matter how many times I take out the hair tie and redo it, they continue to defy gravity and spring up. I try one last time, but this time it makes things even worse. Instead of merely sticking up, this time the hair ties slide to the ends, letting my hair poof out. I groan, hitting my head on the mirror. I look stupid! It looks like horns!

Or maybe a horseshoe.

My mother always told me that horseshoes were good luck. But only when you turn them up, of course. If you hang them the other way, all the luck will drain out. Maybe that's been my problem all these years. When your hair is down, it's kind of like an upside down horseshoe, is it not? But when it's sticking up like this…

I smile, and decide to leave it like this. Just for today. Who knows what everyone else will say about it, but perhaps I could use a little good luck.

With that in mind I grab my schedule and walk to the cafeteria. After grabbing my tray, I begin to walk to my usual spot when I hear a voice calling my name.

"Hey Mallory! Come sit with us!" Mikron yells, waving his hands in the air.

I smile and sit down next to him, across from Baran. And with that, the loser table feels a little less lonely.

Baran shovels the last of his food into his mouth and asks, "So do you know what you're gonna call yourself yet?"

I feel a little awkward, especially since Mikron doesn't have much food left on his tray either. They must've got here way before I did. As nice as it was for them to invite me to sit with them, it doesn't look like it will last.

I shake my head. "No, not yet. Do you?"

Baran grins. "I'm thinking Mammoth. Me 'n Selinda came up with it when we joined. She was gonna be Shimmer."

There's a twinkle of sadness in his eyes, and I look at Mikron, silently urging him to get the topic off of Baran's sister.

"I don't know. I'll probably go with Gizmo, but it's not cool enough for me. It sounds like something a total weirdo would come up with," Mikron grumbles, crossing his arms.

"I think it sounds good," Baran says.

Mikron rolls his eyes. "Of course you would. You probably need to come up with something soon though. Costume design is on our schedule you know."

"Yeah," I sigh. "I'll probably just have to wing it."

We sit in silence as Mikron finishes up his cereal. He and Baran get up to dump their trays together, and I try to believe them when they promise to come back and wait on me. In the meantime, I chew on my muffin and wish I could come up with something.

"Mallory?"

I turn around and see Seymour. I narrow my eyes suspiciously. "What do you want?"

He rubs the back on his neck. "I just wanted to say congratulations on getting into the graduating class. Angela's pretty jealous she didn't get to move up."

I smirk at the thought of sending Angela into a fit of jealousy. "Good."

Seymour laughs. "That's fair. I guess she's not ready to move up. I had to make sure to fail a few classes just so I could stick with her. She doesn't know, though. She just thinks I'm stupid."

My smile turns to a frown. "Why do you stay with her if she's such a jerk to you?"

Seymour sighs, closing his eye. "I guess I'm just worried about what I'll be without her."

"Why, you got a crush or something?" I tease. Seymour's eye goes wide, and I realize that maybe I shouldn't have said that out loud.

"Please don't tell anyone! I don't know what Angela would do if she found out!" he pleads.

I awkwardly hold my hand out, laying it on his arm. "It's okay. Your secret's safe with me."

Seymour sighs in relief. "Promise?"

"Yeah, I promise."

Seymour smiles, looking into the distance. I follow his gaze and see Mikron and Baran returning to the table.

"I should probably go. I'll see you around."

"See ya later," I say as he walks away.

Baran and Mikron sit back down at their spots as I finish up my muffin. The ground shakes a bit as Baran sits down, and my mouth twitches up into a smile.

"I thought you guys wouldn't come back," I admit.

Baran laughs. "Of course we would. I don't break promises to friends."

My smile widens, and though I know it's foolish my mind begins to wander to all the adventures the three of us will have at the HIVE Academy together. I would've been fine on my own, sure, but I now realize that maybe life really is better with friends.

… **.**

 **Hey guys! I'm** _ **finally**_ **on winter break! Well, I'll still have to go to work, but I don't have school for the rest of 2017 so that's definitely something.** **I'm not sure if that will make anything change for the better writing-wise since I've still got a lot going on, but we'll see. Life has just been… weird this year. It was an improvement on 2016 though, so I'll give it that.**

 **B** **ut yeah, I'll try to update once or twice before the end of the year. ;)**

 **Thank you Silver-Infinite for reviewing (This Leo is in fact Leonard Snart, but he isn't** _ **THE**_ **Leonard Snart** **. I'll try not to spoil anything, but you'll see what I mean in a couple chapters. I'm glad so many people are excited about him, he's a lot of fun to write!), Carley Pie for following, and FrostedFire for following.**

 **Quote of the day!**

" _Mom! Dad! Look over here! Get a picture of me next to the cucumber in authentic Argentinian garb!"_ -Junior Asparagus, VeggieTales

 **(Seriously though, the older I get the more I realize what an absolute _treasure_ that show is)**

 **May the odds be ever in your favor,**

 **~Spectrobes Princess**


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